Healing Hearts
by Natacha Wolf
Summary: When a young woman is attacked by three mysterious men, Logan is there to rescue her. But why are those men after her and what is hidden in her past? The story takes place after "X-Men : The Last Stand".
1. Chapter 1

It was late at night but Logan couldn't fall asleep. As far as he remembered he always had problems sleeping, but since Jean's death, things were getting even worse. He decided to go to town for a drink. After wandering for a while, he finally found a bar still open. He parked his bike in front, lit a cigar and went inside. The place was not too big, but it had a lot of people. Apparently, there also was some kind of event.

"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming here tonight." A woman's voice echoed through the speakers. Logan turned to look at the stage. There was a young woman standing in front of a microphone, possibly in her late twenties, wearing jeans and a black t-shirt.

The melody of "Demons" from Imagine Dragons rang out from the speakers and she began to sing. She had a powerful and angelic voice that could make anybody's jaw drop. Logan turned around and reached for the counter. He paid no attention to her. He was only there to drown his sorrows in a glass of beer, despite knowing it was futile. He was indifferent to everything else going on around him, except what the barman was pouring in his glass.

"What can I get for you, sir?" the barman asked.  
"A beer," Logan answered automatically.

The bartender picked a glass and poured beer into it. "Here's your drink, sir." The bartender slid Logan's drink in front of him and noticed that he was staring at the woman on stage. "She's good isn't she?" he asked, trying to make conversation.  
"She's not bad," Logan replied. What caught Logan's attentions was the intensity on the woman's face while singing. It was like the song was referring to her own demons. The woman was slowly gaining his attention.  
"What kind of demons could a woman like her have?" he whispered thinking of his own.

When you feel my heat,  
Look into my eyes.  
It's where my demons hide,  
It's where my demons hide.  
Don't get too close,  
It's dark inside.  
It's where my demons hide,  
It's where my demons hide.

The song ended. "Thank you again, everybody," she said, "Enjoy the rest of your night and I'll see you next week." She disappeared backstage while the whole room was applauding. After twenty minutes or so she came out and approached the bar counter.

"Hey girl, you nailed it!" the barman said when he saw her coming.  
The woman stood just beside Logan and he took the opportunity to look at her in detail before she noticed. "Thanks, Josh. I loved it." She said with a small smile in the corner of her mouth.  
"Want something to drink?"  
"No, I'm ok. I just want to go home. I'm exhausted. Can I have my check please?"  
"Yes, sure, wait here…" Josh the bartender walked into the office behind the counter.

Logan was still looking at the woman from the corner of his eyes. "Nice voice," he finally said.  
"Oh, thank you!" Usually, she would try to end the small talk here to avoid any uncomfortable situation, but for some reason, she felt comfortable and safe enough talking to him. "Do you come here often?" she asked, trying to get the conversation going.  
"From time to time just to get some fresh –"  
"Hey, Megan, here you go." Josh interrupted, coming back and giving the woman an envelope.  
"Great! Thank you, Josh. See you next week." The woman named Megan turned back to Logan.

She looked at him for an instance, trying to convince herself to stay a little bit longer, but decided that it was better for her just to go home. "Have a nice night," she said and walked away.

Logan's eyes followed her out of the bar. As the door closed behind her he noticed a man dressed in all black also staring at her while he was talking on the phone. Logan sensed something off about him. He listened in to hear what the man was saying.

"She just left. Don't screw it up. Remember we need her alive." The man hung up his phone and left the place.

Outside, Megan started walking along the sidewalk heading for the bus stop and turned into a side road to take a shortcut. The road was deserted and dark, but she was too deep into her thoughts to notice it. She smiled, thinking about the man she spoke with at the bar. He was quite her type. It had been a while since the last time she met a man she felt comfortable around. She started to think she should have stayed or at least asked his name or if he would come again next week.

"So we meet again…" a cold voice came from a couple of meters behind her. At the same moment, two black silhouettes appeared out of nowhere from the front and started approaching.  
"One, two…" Megan slightly turned her head to check behind her. "… Three… Shit…" she whispered.  
"Are you going to make me use force this time or are you going to be a good girl and just come with me?" the same voice continued.  
"Three guys against one woman that is really cowardly. If I were you I will leave her alone." Said Logan appearing just behind the first man.

The man laughed "Look, man, this is none of your business. There's three of us and one of you."

Logan smiled and unsheathed his claws.

"Interesting." The man commented to Logan's threat. Then, he turned to his men. "You two take care of this thing. I will take care of the girl."

The two men stalked towards against Logan as their leader approached Megan. Before the man got close, Megan reached towards her ankles and pulled out two daggers.

"Why are you making things so complicated?" he asked her.  
"Who are you? What do you want from me?" Megan demanded.

She had been trained from a very young age in combat so she was feeling calm and prepared. Especially now that Logan was taking care of the other two, she was confident that she could take care of the man in front of her.  
Megan was scanning her adversary trying to anticipate his next move when the man tried to seize her right hand, but she was faster. She retracted her hand and immediately struck back and cut the man's face.

"You little bitch!" he screamed while holding his bleeding cheek. "I had enough of this crap. You are now going to come with me." The man pulled a gun out of his jacket and aimed at her. "So now put down your little toys."

Logan dispatched with the other two thugs quickly. Three claws penetrated the last man's chest, the shock making him pull the trigger. A gunshot echoed through the street. He retracted his claws and let the dead body fall down just to end up facing a terrified woman holding her left shoulder which was covered in blood.

"Shit!" he yelled while catching Megan before she felt to the ground.

She looked in Logan's eyes for any hint on how badly hurt she was, but her vision started blurring. She could feel the blood running down her shoulder, but the pain was too intense for her to understand exactly where the bullet hit her.

Logan laid Megan down and took out his cellphone. "Hang in there. I'm calling for help." He started dialling when he noticed that Megan was struggling to stay conscious. "Don't pass out on me. I need you awake." Logan said in a desperate effort to keep her conscious.

"I'm trying… I…" Megan desperately tried to focus on Logan's voice to stay awake, but she eventually gave up to the pain and collapsed.  
"Damn it! Come on, pick up.  
Finally, he got through. "Storm, I need your help..."


	2. Chapter 2

Back to the School's lab, Storm was finishing the last few stitches on Megan's shoulder.

"Is she going to be okay?" Logan asked concerned.  
"Yes, she will. The bullet just went through and didn't touch anything. She will need a lot of rest and she will be just fine."

The door of the lab opened and Professor Xavier came in.

"How is she?" he asked.  
"She is still unconscious but the bullet didn't do any damage, she is going to be fine," Storm replied.  
"Good. Logan, can I have a few words with you outside?"

Logan nodded his head and the two men headed outside closing the door behind them.

"Tell me, Logan, what happened exactly?"  
"To be honest I don't really know. I just happened to be there when three men attacked her, " he explained.  
"Did they say anything? What did they want from her? "  
"No, nothing!" he paused. "Actually one of them said something like, "you won't get away this time" but that's all. I am sorry I brought her here but this is the only place I knew she would be safe."

Logan knew that bringing her here without Charles approval could be dangerous. They didn't know anything about this woman. For all they knew those people could track her down putting the whole school in danger.

"You did what was right. I just have to make sure that it is safe for us to let her stay here if it's not we will have to find a solution. Thank you, Logan." He was worried for the safety of his students, but on the other hand, he was dedicated to helping anybody in need.

"Good, if you need anything I will be at the gym." Logan turned around and walked toward the gym that was a couple of meters further down.

The Professor went back to the lab, stopped at the top of the bed and put his hands on each side of Megan's head.

"Everything ok Professor?" Storm asked.  
"I just want to make sure that she is not a threat to us before she wakes up," he explained.

A couple of minutes passed by, but before the professor had finished, Megan started to regain consciousness. She opened her eyes just to come face to face with a man that she had never seen before. Terrified, she jumped off the surgical bed and grabbed a scalpel that was on the medical tray.

"Who the hell are you? What I'm doing here?" She pointed the scalpel at the two unknown people in front of her while looking around for any clue on where she was and what happened.  
"Please calm down miss Wild. My name is Professor Charles Xavier and you are in my school for gifted youngsters. This is Ororo Munroe, she took care of you." The Professor said in a calm and reassuring voice.  
"School for what? What is that?" Megan never expected an answer like this, everything around her looked nothing like a school.  
"It's a school for mutants. I believe your father has spoken to you about mutants. You have no reason to be afraid of us, why don't you put the scalpel down and I will explain what happened." The Professor tried to calm her, but the mention of her father only made the situation worse.

"How do you know my father?" Her voice was even more confused and angry than before.  
"I don't. I have the power to read people's minds, and in order to make sure that you are not a threat to us I had to read yours."  
"You read minds?" Her father had told her numerous times about mutants and their power, but being face to face with one of them was still incredible for her.

"Yes, and as your father told you we are not dangerous." He whispered in her mind.

The Professor's trick worked, she slowly started to calm down but she still wasn't feeling secure enough.

"What I am doing here?" Everything was still very blurry in her mind and she couldn't remember how she ended up in this place.  
"You were attacked and shot. Logan brought you here to keep you safe." Storm jumped in the conversation.  
"Logan? Who's Logan?" This name didn't sound familiar at all.  
"I'm Logan!" Logan had heard the voices from the gym and came back to see what was happening.

Megan turned to look the man at the door. When she saw Logan's face, scenes from the night before started flashing in front of her eyes.  
The bar, the alley, the three shadows in the dark, something stopping them...

"Wait, you were at the bar. We,we talked, just before I left right?" She was finally starting to remember.  
"Yeah, that is ri-"  
"And you were there when they attacked me. " She continued without waiting for his answer.

She suddenly remembered how comfortable she felt that night talking to him and that feeling helped her calm down.

"Why did you bring me here? Couldn't you just take me to a hospital?" Despite remembering most of what happened, she was still wondering why she was here.  
"There were three dead guys and you were shot with a gun. Usually, in this case, the hospital calls the police. Did you really want to explain to them exactly what happened?" He was right, even if she was innocent the police would never believe her.

Logan's last words finally relaxed her and she put the scalpel back on the tray.

"Please sit down I want to check your stitches I hope you didn't rip them when you jumped off like that." Storm said and helped her sit back on the bed.

"I just want to ask you some questions if it's ok with you?" the Professor said.  
"I guess so, yes." She never liked talking about herself, but she could understand that this was a weird situation that needed some explanation.  
"Could you tell me why these men are after you? Logan mentioned that one of them said that it wasn't the first time you met. "

She looked at Logan wondering what else he could have said." I can't help you with that, I really don't know. The only thing I know is that a man came and talked to me a couple of weeks ago. He said he was a friend of my father and that he needed my help. But my father had warned me that if someday, somebody come to me claiming to be a friend of his, I shouldn't trust them and just walk away. And that is exactly what I did."

"Why did your father told you to do so?"  
"I never asked. Work stuff I guess, but he was always keeping it a secret. "  
"And he just let you go? He didn't say anything else?" Logan asked suspiciously.  
"Well we were in the middle of the university court, I don't think there was anything that he could do. I didn't hear from him again until last night and you know the rest. I'm sorry I wish I had more answers. "  
"Who is your father?" the Professor asked, looking for some details that could maybe lead to an explanation.  
"Nobody really, just a biologist working in some pharmaceutical company."

Everybody stood in silence for a couple of seconds.

"Thank you for your honesty Miss Wild. We do not usually allow strangers here but I believe we can trust you," the professor finally broke the silence, "you are welcome to stay as long as you need. Storm will help you settle down. Dinner it's at 8, you are welcome to join us." he added and slowly left the room.

Megan was glad that the interrogation was finally over. She decided that the best thing she could do for the moment was to rest, and take her time to figure out what she will do about the attack.

"Everything looks all right. You were lucky the bullet didn't break any bones. It will hurt for a couple of days but you will be fine. Logan, can you please take her to a room upstairs while ago grab some clean clothes?"  
"Let's go, kid, I don't have all day!"

Before even finishing his sentence he was already started walking towards the exit. Μegan walked as fast as possible trying to catch with him, but her legs were still weak. Once the got in the elevator, an uncomfortable silence spread between them.

"Thank you…for saving me. I don't remember all the details but I remember enough." Megan finally managed to break the ice.  
"Yeah, sure, whatever!" That was the only think Logan could think as an answer, and the awkward silence was back.

The elevator door opened and Megan got out first. The place was full of young mutants coming and going from their rooms and talking to each over. When she realised that all of them were mutants, she felt anxious and moved backwards, but Logan was just behind her and she bumped into him.

''Common kid they won't hurt you," he gave her a gentle push on the back.

Αfter walking through the corridors Logan opened the door of an empty room.

"Here you go," he noticed that Storm was coming towards them, "here comes Storm," he added and left.  
"Thank you," Megan yelled when she realised he was leaving, hoping that he heard her.

"Here's some clean clothes and some pain killers, get yourself comfortable." Storm said while giving her a small pile of clothes. "If you need anything let me know, ok?"  
"Yes, thank you. Can I ask you something? The Professor introduced you as Ororo but Logan just called you Storm, why?"

Storm smiled. "Because a have the power to control the weather."

Megan stared at her open-mouthed. "And what about Logan?" She realised that this was a good opportunity to learn more about the man who saved her.

"He was an accelerated healing process as well as metal claws." Storm answered after hesitating.  
"I remember the claws, yes." Megan didn't understand the full meaning of "accelerated healing process" but she thought it sounded pretty amazing.  
"Anything else?" Storm asked after a short silence.  
"No, I'm ok to thank you."  
"Great see you at dinner," Storm said and left.

Megan closed the door behind her, she sat down on the bed and took a deep breath. She was still feeling confused and couldn't understand why all these were happening to her, but on the other hand, she was feeling safe here. She looked at the clock on the bedside table, it was past 7, she jumped in the shower and got ready for dinner.

As soon as she opened the door of her room, she realised that she had no idea where the dining room was. She started looking around hoping to find it, or at least find somebody that could tell her where to go when she suddenly heard a voice coming from behind her.

"You look lost can I help you?"

Megan turned and saw a girl's face just a few centimetres away from hers.

"Jesus Christ!" she exclaimed.  
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You are the new girl, right? I am Kitty." The young girl apologised.  
"Where did you come from? There was nobody here three seconds ago, and all the doors are closed!" Megan replied surprised.  
"Oh, I was in my room just over there. I have the power to pass through solid matter, here." Kitty passed her arm through the wall to demonstrate her power. "What's yours?" She continued.  
"My what?" Megan asked puzzled.  
"Your power?"  
"Oh emm… actually, I am not a mutant."

Now it was Kitty's turn to feel confused.

"Really? The Professor rarely lets any human come here."  
"Yeah, so I've been told. Speaking of which, can you please tell me where the dining room is?" Megan had the feeling that she was running late.  
"I was just heading there. Follow me."

When they arrived in the dining room there was a dozen of the oldest students sitting on the table, waiting for the food. Storm stood up and walked toward the two girls.

"Kids, I want to introduce you to Megan. She will be staying with us for a short amount of time. I expect from you to welcome her and to make her feel at home." She then turned to Megan. "Come sit next to me."

Ounces seated, Megan scanned the room looking for Logan. She hoped maybe they could continue the conversation they started the night before, but to her disappointment, he never came.

Kids around the table started to ask questions about her. Who was she? Where did she come from? It was clear that they were intrigued by the fact that the Professor allowed her to stay. But she wasn't really the type of person that would open up and tell her life story to just anybody, so she kept her answers as short and sketchy as possible. However, she was really interested in learning about this place and the people that were living here.

After roughly twenty minutes the exhaustion reached to her,and even before the end of the dinner, she excused herself and went back to her room. She lay down on her bed and fell asleep a soon as her head hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 3

It was late in the morning when Megan finally woke up. She rolled on her back and stared at the ceiling, she hoped that a good night sleep would clear her mind, but she was still very confused. Her shoulder was hurting but much less than she thought it would. She turned to reach the little bottle of painkillers that Storm had given her. She looked at the clock on her bedside table, it was showing 12:00.

"Damn it!" She said and jumped out of bed, she had agreed to meet Storm at noon to check on her wound and she was running late.

She rushed to the elevator and pushed the button for the basement. On her way to the lab she passed in front of the gym's opened door, where she saw Logan exercising on a punching bag. She stopped to observe him, he was wearing a white shirt that was embracing his figure and showing off all his muscles.

"Megan? Are you coming?" Storm's voice brought her back to earth.  
"Yes, sorry I am coming," she felt her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. She had been busted.

"How was your first night? Everything ok?" Storm started a conversation while taking off the band-aid from Megan' shoulder.  
"Everything was great, I really don't know how to thank you enough." She answered looking at the wound. "How does it look," she then added.  
"It looks really good. It is closing faster than I expected and that's a good sign. If it keeps going like that you will be as good as new in no time."

To her surprise, Megan didn't feel that excited about the good news. She knew that as soon as she had fully recovered she would have to leave, and she wasn't ready for that. She was feeling safe here and she didn't know how she was supposed to get back to her life after what happened. On top of that, she was really dying to learn everything about mutants, and there would be no better place than this school.

"You are free to go, I will check it again tomorrow ok?"  
"Thank you."

Megan stood up, but before reaching the exit she noticed two familiar daggers on the desk. She approached and picked them up.

"You found my daggers, I thought I lost them."  
"Yes, we did. Actually, I meant to ask you about those, where did you buy them? "  
"I didn't. It was a gift from my father, "to defend myself" as he used to say." Megan put the daggers back down.  
"They are pretty heavy for such a little blade, do you know what they are made of?" for some reason Storm was clearly intrigued by them.  
"Steel would be my guest." But the answer didn't convince Storm.  
"I don't think so if it was steel they would be lighter. Do you mind if I run some tests to find it out? "  
"As long as they are not going to be damaged. As I said they were a gift from my father, I am kind of attached to them."  
"Don't worry, I will take care of them." Storm reassured her.

Megan closed the door behind her and walked towards the elevator. When passing in front of the gym she couldn't resist taking a quick and discrete look. He was still there, but no matter how much she wanted it she didn't stop, this time, being caught once was enough.

Back on the ground floor, Megan headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. The corridors were really quiet this time of the day, kids and teachers were all in their classes. This gave her the opportunity to wander around and explore rooms around the manor. She entered a big room, probably the living room. There was a TV in front of a big couch, many bookcases full of books of every genre and at the back of it, there was a beautiful black piano. She let her fingers slide on the piano's keys while observing the rest of the room. Then in the corner next to her, there was a guitar among other instruments. "This is more my style," she thought and grabbed the guitar going to sit back on the couch. She placed her left hand on the handle and she immediately felt a small pinch on her shoulder. "Less painful than I imagine," she thought to herself.

She played some chords and tuned the strings a little. Under normal circumstances, she would practice a couple of hours a day. Singing had always been a big passion of hers. Today there was only one song that kept coming on her mind, "Wicked Game" from Chris Isaak, so she started singing.

"The world was on fire and no one could save me but you.  
It's strange what desire will make foolish people do.  
I never dreamed that I'd meet somebody like you.  
And I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you."

Right before the end of the song she felt like somebody was watching her. She lifted her eyes to look around when she saw him. Logan was standing at the door gazing at her. Her heart skipped a beat and she almost forgot the lyrics. She thought about stopping to talk to him but then she remembered, "Nice voice you have." It was the first think that he ever told her, she looked back down and kept singing.

.."No, I wanna fall in love  
No, I wanna fall in love  
With you"

She finished the song and looked back at the door. She had in mind to ask him if he still thinks she has a nice voice, but Logan was gone. She felt her heart filling with disappointment. She usually had good social skills but for the first time, she could not find the right way to approach someone. Frustrated she took a deep breath, stood up to put the guitar back in place when she heard the school bell ringing and a sea of students pop out of their classrooms.

That night, the reality slowly caught up with Megan and didn't let her fall asleep. She was thinking about everything that happened those past days especially the night of the attack, trying to remember the face or any other detail that could lead her to an answer. The man said that he knew her father, but she couldn't recall ever meeting him. Her father used to keep his work completely apart of his family. He never talked much about what he was doing, never invited any colleagues at home, nothing.

After a couple of hours turning again and again in her bed, she got up and went down stair for a bottle of water. When she reached the kitchen somebody was already there.

"Hey, can you pass me a bottle of water please." She said to the person who had his head in the fridge.  
"Sure, here you go," the young boy said handing a small bottle of water. "You're Megan, right? I'm Bobby, we met at dinner the other night," he added.  
"I remember you, you do something with ice right? "  
"I can create ice, they call me Iceman," he said proudly. "So, can't sleep?" he continued.  
"No, not really. You?"  
"No, I was just thirsty. Don't worry, though, after a few days you will get used to the new environment and you will sleep like a baby. I believe everybody in here went through that period."

Megan looked at him amused.

"What? Did I said something funny?"  
"No, it's just that I don't think that I will be staying long enough to get used to this place." She explained with a clear disappointment in her eyes.  
"Why?" Bobby replied puzzled.  
"Well I am too old to be a student, I am definitely not a teacher and I am not a mutant either, so...I don't think there is any reason for me to stay more than the time that I need to recover."  
"That's too bad, I really like you. It's not every day that you encounter a human that is cool being around us."  
"Thank you, that was nice. I should go back, try to get some sleep."  
"Can I walk with you?"  
"Sure, you can make sure I won't get lost again." They both laughed and walked towards the stairs.

When they reached the top Megan froze.

"What was that?" She asked anxiously.  
"What was what? " Bobby replied, but immediately a man's screams echoed through the corridor. "Oh, that's.. that's Logan he-," he started to explain.  
"Logan? Why? What's wrong?" Megan asked worried before Bobby had the chance to finished his sentence.  
"He often has some really bad nightmares." Once again before he had the time to finish, Megan was on her way to Logan's room.  
"Hey! Wait where do you think you are going?". Bobby ran after her and grabbed her arm."You are not seriously thinking to go in there?" He asked almost terrified.  
"Of Course I am. We have to wake him up, he sounds like he is in agony," she answered and pulled back her arm.  
"I can't let you go in there. The last person that tried that, ended up been stabbed and almost died. "

Megan took a deep breath."Look, I know what I am doing. My father used to have terrible nightmares and he was sleeping with a gun under his pillow. There is nothing you can do to stop me, so if you are concerned, just come with me and hold that" she gave him the bottle of water, "and be prepared to call for help."

Bobby stood there speechless while watching Megan enter Logan's room.

It was really dark in the room but she could distinguish a shadow lying down on the bed, agitated ,as if it was fighting with something, and panting for air.

"JEAN NO!" Logan screamed. She felt her heart sink. She knelt beside the bed. "Logan," she murmured. The sound of her voice made Logan reveal his claws. Now she could feel the fear, making her heart almost jumping out of her chest.

"God dammit it, leave him alone,"Bobby whispered from the door, but she just ignored him. She was too determined.

"Hush, it is just a nightmare, everything is fine," she put her hand on his arm. "Everything's fine," she whispered again. To her, and Bobby's relief, Logan started to relaxing. He slowly stopped moving, his respiration calmed down and he started retracting back his claws.

"Hey, tiger you are ok,"she said when he opened his eyes and looked at her.

It took Logan a couple of seconds to realise what was going on. He suddenly sat up and opened the light.

"What the hell are you doing here," he finally barked at her.  
"You were having a nightmare, I just woke you up," she explained a little frustrated from his reaction.  
"I could have killed you, are you out of your mind?"  
"That what I told her but she wouldn't listen," Bobby intervened, still standing at the door, too afraid to come in.  
"Will you just stop," she yelled back at both of them and looked at Logan.  
"I could have killed you," this time he didn't yell,but his voice was still firm, although Megan was able to distinguish something different. Concern maybe, it was difficult to say since he was clearly still mad.

"But you didn't, I knew what I was doing. Just calm down now and go back to sleep." She answered in a calm and reassuring tone while her sweetest smile was drawn on her face.

Logan looked at her ready to yell some more, but there was something about the way she was looking at him that just made him forget about how mad he was.

"Just go to sleep. We'll talk about it that tomorrow," He finally said with an almost gentle voice.  
"Good night," Megan replied.

They didn't say anything else and she walked out the room closing the door gently behind her.

"Ok, that was impressive," Bobby said once the door was closed.  
"Told you I will be fine, I knew what - " she suddenly felt dizzy and lost her balance.  
"Wow, are you ok? "Bobby grabbed her arm to help her stay on her feet.  
"Yes, I 'm just tired."  
"Are you sure? You look like a ghost," he asked before letting her go.  
"Yes, I am sure. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight Bobby." She reassured him and took back the bottle that she gave him before going into the room.

Bobby watched her walking away. He felt that something was wrong but he just couldn't figure out what...


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning, a loud knock on the door woke Megan up.

"Wake up kid!" Logan shouted on the other side.

She immediately jumped out of the bed, and started dressing up in a hurry. Logan knocked the door again.

"I am coming, " Megan shouted, but Logan knocked once again.  
"Stop knocking like a maniac, I said I'm coming," she quickly tied her hair in a high ponytail in a desperate attempt to hide how messed up she looked.  
"I hope you are not here to talk about last night, I need coffee first!" She said while opening the door.  
"I'm not, the Professor wants to see us in the lab right now, let's go." He said and immediately moved away.

It took her a couple of seconds to realize what Logan had just said.

"Wait, what? Both of us? What happened?" She asked surprised while running behind him.  
"Yes, both of us and I don't know, you tell me?"  
"Why would I know?" She fired back almost offended.  
"If you don't know, then I guess we are going to find out."

"Good morning miss Wild, Logan." The professor greeted them when they entered the room.  
"Hello Megan, please come in." Storm said.  
"Is everything alright?" she asked while standing in front of them.

Logan on the other hand walked over to the back of the room and sat on the desk that was there.

"Miss Wild we have some questions that we would like to ask you," the Professor started.  
"Is there something wrong?" She asked again, her anxiety evident on her face.  
"I don't think there is any reason to worry. Have you ever heard of Adamantium?"

At the sound of Adamantium Logan stood up from the desk and looked at Megan with such intensity that she felt her blood freeze inside her veins.

"A.. Ad..Adamantium? " She stuttered under the pressure. "No never heard of it."

She looked back at him hopping that this would calm him down, but it was clear that Logan was getting angrier with every passing second.

"Adamantium is a very dense, artificial, iron-based alloy that is virtually indestructible," the Professor explained. "Rare and expensive to create and manipulate, it is why it is a top secret in the US government," he paused and looked at Logan.

It was clear that Logan was at his limit, almost ready to burst out of rage, which made the Professor wondering if having him in the room for this conversation was a good idea.

"Doesn't ring any bells, I'm sorry. But what do I have to do with that?"

This whole situation was creating more confusion than anything else in her mind. But what was bothering her the most was the fact that she couldn't understand why this Adamantium thing was such a big deal to Logan.

"I ran the test we talked about yesterday. The results revealed that your daggers are made of Adamantium." Storm finally explained.  
"Where did you find those blades kido?" Logan roared from the other side of the room while walking towards Megan.

Terrified Megan took a step back, she had figured that Logan wasn't the sweet type of guy, but she never thought that she could do something that would infuriate him like that. After all three days ago they didn't even know each other.

"Logan Stop it!" Storm yelled at him and put herself in his way.  
"Don't worry he won't hurt you." The Professor tried to reassure Megan when he saw the panic in her eyes.  
"There is a reasonable explanation for Logan's reaction.A long time ago, a man called Stryker performed an experiment on him and bonded Adamantium to his skeleton. "

Megan emotions immediately turned from fear to compassion.

"My God, why would anybody do something like that? "  
"Really, you want us to believe that you don't know nothing?" Logan yelled at her again, before she had the chance to feel more sorry about him.

It took her a couple of seconds before answering. She didn't like confrontations and the fact that Logan was screaming at her and implying that she was withholding some kind of information, was starting to annoying her.

"I said I'm sorry, but no, I never heard of Adamantium nor this Stryker guy," she said as calmly as possible.  
"You're lying!" Logan creamed and pushed Storm out of his way."Adamantium is top secret, only a few people know the complete formula. If you possess it, you have to know about it . You know something and you are lying. Tell me what you know? Who are you?".

By the time he finished his last sentence he was standing in front of her, his face only ten centimetres away from hers, looking deeply into her eyes trying to intimidate this was the straw that broke the camel's back. She was not going to stay there and be accused of something that she didn't even know about.

"I told you it was my father's gift, I don't know anything else. You know what? Back off! Nobody gets to call me a liar. You don't know me. I am not going to stay here being accused for something I didn't do. " She yelled back.

Worried that this situation might get ugly, she stormed out of the room in an attempt to stop the fight. But Logan wasn't ready to let go.

"Where you do you think you are going?" Logan said and started running after her.  
"Logan leave her alone! You won't get anything by pushing her like that." Storm tried to stop him, but the professor intervened.  
"Let him go Ororo."  
"But, professor we can't let him act like that. I think she is telling the truth, but he is not going to leave her alone until he gets something out of her. I don't think this is what she needs after all she been through."  
The Professor smiled, "She is going to be ok, trust me. Let them dance."

A couple of meters down the hallway Logan reached Megan, grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the wall.

" Leave me alone, I told you I know nothing! And you know what? Even if I knew, do you really think that buy yelling and threatening me like this I would trust you enough to tell you anything? Seriously? You are acting like a psycho." She said before Logan had the opportunity to fire anything at her.

"Trust me? Really, is that your problem ? That you don't trust me ? I fucking saved your life and brought you here so you can be safe. Is this not enough for you? " He kept yelling, his hands on the wall on either side of Megan's head.

"I didn't ask for your help and you will not use that as a way to make me feel that I owe you something! And for your information, no is not enough. Trust takes time and patience to know the other person, and since that day the only time we said anything to each other is today and the only thing you have done until now is yelling at me and calling me a liar. So back off and leave me alone!"

She passed under Logan's arm and ran towards the elevator. Surprisingly enough Logan let her go. Megan's words made Logan think that maybe he was wrong to talking to her like that and maybe he should give her the benefit of the doubt.

In the meantime, their fight had caught Colossus and Kitty's attention from the gym. They were standing in the hallway looking at Logan judgmentally. .

"Show is over, go back to whatever you were doing!" Logan said when he realized that they had seen the whole scene. He gave a hard punched into the wall to try to calm his nerves, and returned to the lab.

"Seriously professor, you are not going to do anything about that?" Logan said as soon as he got back.  
"What do you want me to do Logan?" The Professor calmly replied.  
"I don't know, bring her back here, read her mind and see what she is hiding?"  
"She will talk when and if she feels ready. I know that she is not a threat and that she respects us. Please consider the fact that she might really not know nothing about Stryker. Maybe her father really kept everything a secret."  
"She knows something, I can feel it and I want to know what!"  
"If you are so convinced why don't you just try to gain her trust as she told you." Storm jumped in the conversation. "What I understood is that she just needs a little more time to get to know you and trust you."  
"Why should I gain her trust? Is it not something that you or the Professor usually do? "  
"Because if she wanted me to be that person, she would have said so. You're the one that saved her and brought her here, you are the one with whom she feels connected. "  
"Yeah right," he said sarcastically.  
"Storm is right, let her calm down for today, and tomorrow maybe you should try to talk to her, but nicely this time, ok?"

Logan didn't answer. Deep down he knew that he handled the situation badly and that Storm was right, but he wasn't ready to admit it. He didn't say anything else and just walked out of the room.

Storm exhaled "What what intense! Professor, why did you let him act like that?"  
"Because I have a feeling about those two. I don't know exactly what time will bring but they could help each other in some way. It is difficult to believe seeing them fighting like this but they can handle each other. I like her, I liked her temper and the way she stood up to Logan. I was impressed! " He laughed.  
"So you really didn't see if she knows something?"  
"Oh no, I did. I would never take the risk having somebody that could be connected to Stryker in my school. She really doesn't know anything about him nor about those who are after her. But she suspects that her father was involved in something, and she might know where to find answers. "  
"So why didn't you try to make her tell us where we can find them?"  
"Because, she wants to trust Logan and I believe that this is a great opportunity for him to come close to somebody again. As I told you I believe that the can help each other in their own way."

Back in her room Megan tried to cool down by punching and kicking the walls. She didn't know if she was frustrated because of Logan's behaviour or because deep down she wanted to be able to talk to him but she didn't feel ready. She sat down on the floor, her back on the door when suddenly somebody knocked on the door.

"God damn it, just leave me alone!"

Nobody answered and she thought for a moment that whoever that was, they left. But right at that moment Kitty passed through the wall and appeared just next to her.

"You know that the fact that you can pass through walls doesn't mean that you can come in whenever you want right? " She looked at Kitty with fire in her eyes.  
"I know, but I really need to tell you something about Logan." She said hoping that it would be an good enough excuse.  
"I really don't want to talk about it " Megan replied.  
"I don't want to talk about what happened, I just want to tell you a couple of things about him."

Megan wasn't in the mood right now to listen to anything that had to do with him, but Kitty continued before Megan had the chance to ask her to leave.

"Look, I believe that in our lives we all need somebody to trust and talk with," Megan rolled her eyes hoping to make her stop, but Kitty cut her off "just listen to me, and then I will leave you alone. Ok?"  
Megan took a deep breath "Ok, I am listening."

Kitty sat down next to her.

"I heard you saying that trust takes time and patience, and you are absolutely right. For some reason it looks like you really want to trust him, but his character won't make it easy for you. He is distant, he looks like he doesn't care, rules don't apply to him and a lot of other things that I am not going to go into right now. But you need to understand that he has been through a lot. He has been through hell and back and lost people that he loved. Despite that, I've seen him put his life in danger to save us, caring in his own way for all of us and at the end of the day, he is always there then we need him. What I am trying to say is that I can guarantee you that trusting him is the best decision that you can make. Just talk to him and you will see."

She stopped for just an instance to see Megan's reaction, but she looked too confused to say or do anything.

"Ok, I am going to leave you alone now, just promise me that you will think about what I told you ok?"  
"I will," she replied, looking a lot more relaxed.

Kitty stood up to leave the room.

"Kitty?" Megan stopped her.  
"Yes?"  
"Thank you!"

Kitty smiled knowing that her monologue did in fact have some effect on her, and left the room.


	5. Chapter 5

For the rest of the day, Megan didn't to come out of her room not even for dinner. She was feeling frustrated and didn't want to see or talk to anybody. She especially wanted to avoid running into Logan, fearing that they would continue their fight from where they had left it. Around 23:00 the hunger got the best of her. She finally got out heading towards the kitchen, hoping to find some leftovers from dinner to eat.

The mansion was awfully quiet at this late hour. Almost everybody was in their rooms getting ready for sleep or already sleeping. When she reached the kitchen she didn't bother opening the lights, her eyes had got used to the dark and she didn't want to let anyone know of her presence. She grabbed an apple from the bowl on the kitchen table, started eating it in front of the window, contemplating the vast and beautiful garden outside. Everything was looking so calm and peaceful, the sky was clear and since the mansion was far away from the city's lights you could see the infinite number of stars shining above. The beauty of the night made her finally, after so many hours, feel serene and forget about the recent events. But she was quickly brought back to earth when she noticed a figure sitting on the stairs in front of the manor's entrance.

Despite knowing him for only a couple of days, she recognised Logan immediately. Like the day before, she felt her heart skipping a beat. She took the time to observe him for a moment. Logan lighted a cigar. He looked calm, but yet so sad and lonely. This was a side of him that she believed existed but never thought she would see. That made her recall that night, how bad his nightmare had sounded when she went into his room. She also remembered what Kitty said about the fact that he has lost people he loved. She started feeling that maybe she shouldn't have reacted the way she did this morning. Maybe, now that they both had had the time to calm down and think, Maybe, they could try to talk again. But she didn't know anymore what was the right way to approach him. When she came up with an idea.

She started looking in all the cupboards of the kitchen but she didn't found what she was looking for. "Where could somebody store alcohol out of reach from the students?" she asked herself. "The Professor's office," she thought.

She stood in front of the door repeating to herself how wrong this idea was. She hoped she could ask for permission but at this time of the night it was also totally inappropriate. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She started searching the desk, even if this was the most unlikely place. When she heard the Professor's voice coming from the door.

"Can I help you with something miss Wild?"  
"I am so sorry Professor, I really am. I.." she had never felt so ashamed in her life. She tried to find a good excuse but she knew that there was none.  
"In the left bookcase, bottom right cabinet. You can take it. But I expect from you to be responsible about it."

His response to the situation shocked her. She was expecting to be yelled at for breaking into his office and even worse, being asked to leave the school immediately.

"I do not approve the fact that you entered my office without my authorisation but I am willing to overlook it this time. I consider you to be a responsible adult and that all of this is for a good reason."

It was obvious that the Professor knew exactly what she had in mind, but she stood there gazing at him still confused from what she heard.

"What are you waiting for? He is not going to stay outside much longer."  
"Right," she finally recovered from her daze and immediately went to the pointed cabinet to grab the only bottle that was there.

On her way out she paused beside the Professor.

"Thank you, for everything."  
"You're welcome, Megan. Off you go."

She went to the kitchen, took two glasses and ran to the front door. To her relief, he was still there.

"What do you want?" He said as soon as he heard her. He didn't even bother turning to look at her.  
"I have something to propose."  
"So now you are talking to me?"

She bit her tongue to prevent herself from reacting to his sarcastic comment.

"Look, apparently, we've both been through a lot and as a result, we don't trust or open up to others easily. But the truth is that we really could both use somebody to trust, to talk and get some stuff out of your chests."

She sat down next to him, but Logan kept looking into the void.

"So, I thought we could play a little drinking game to get to know each other. What do you say?"  
"I don't play games." He sharply replied.

She ignored him once again and kept going with the rules.

"We each get to ask questions to the other. If you refuse to answer or get caught lying you drink," she opened the bottle and poured a little bit into each glass. "What do you say? " She then asked and offered him one of the glasses.

Logan turned his head and finally looked at her, but he didn't answer.

"Take it or leave it, this is my last offer," Megan said when she was left hanging.

Logan took the glass of her hand and turned to look at the void in front of him again.

"Ok then, what do you know about Stryker?"

Megan rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I am not even close to been drunk so that I can answer questions about that subject. I recommend you started with some more simple questions otherwise we won't get anywhere, " she said and drunk the whole content of her glass.

"This is the only thing I want to know. I don't give a shit about anything else."

His answer felt like a knife going through Megan's heart. She stared at him in silence not knowing what she was supposed to do with that. Logan turned to look at her when he didn't get a response. His eyes met hers and he was able to see the disappointment in them. It was so obvious and intense that it made him feel uncomfortable and almost sorry for what he said to her.

"Well, this was definitely a mistake then. Sorry for wasting your time." She finally broke her silence.

She tried to stand up but Logan softly grabbed her wrist to stop her.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to… Let's try again. "

Now they were getting somewhere.

"Ok fine, my turn then, " she said and filled her glass again. "How long have you been here? "  
"You really meant it when you said simple questions."  
"Don't worry it's going to escalate pretty fast. So?"  
"Around 3 years."

Finally, after three days and a huge fight they were starting having something that resembled a proper adult conversation.

"Ok, your turn, and I know that you are in a hurry to get me drunk but give me a break ok?" she cracked a small smile hoping that he will cave and play the game fairly.

"How did you end up singing in that bar?"

"Oh, that I can answer. Actually, I am finishing my PhD in Computer Science Engineering, a friend of mine owns the bar and asked me to sing there. It helps him attract more clients and it helps me pay my rent."

Logan looked surprised. He actually believed that she was just a troubled girl what had made a lot of bad choices and was trying to make a living from singing, but he was wrong after all.

"Ok, my turn, do you have any family?"

Logan crashed his cigar on the floor and turned his head to face her.

"If I can not answer, do I have to drink?" He replied.  
"Can not answer? How is that possible?"  
"I... I don't remember. Apparently, the experiment that Stryker did on me, made me lose my memory. Everything before that was erased from my brain. I just woke up one day in the middle of nowhere with a D.O.G tag with Logan, Wolverine written on it." He didn't plan to give those last details but the words just came out.

She was now starting to understand what Kitty meant when she said he's been through alot., and this was just the beginning.

"Gosh, I am sorry about - "  
"Where is yours?" Logan didn't let her finish , he didn't what her feeling sorry for him.

Megan stood in silence. This question wasn't any easier for her than for Logan. She brought the glass to her lips to skip the question but she stopped. She looked deeply into his eyes. She was the one who wanted to know more about the man beside her. And to accomplish that she would have to be prepared to answer some painful questions as well.

"Well, my answer is not less uncomfortable." She warned him and put down her glass. "My mother died from blood cancer when I was 11 and my father was murdered when I was 18 . We still don't know why and by whom. The police said it was a robbery that turned bad but I never believed them. And finally, a have an older sister who is somewhere in Washington I think, I don't really know, she doesn't talk to me much since our father died. "

"How come?"

"Because…" She paused just to take a deep breath before continuing. "When my mother was sick, the doctors found that I was a perfect bone marrow donor. We did the transplant and she actually got better surprisingly fast and she came home for a couple of weeks. But unfortunately after a while, she started to reject the transplant and after trying to fight it for one the last time, she passed away. My sister always blamed me for some reason for her death. So as long as my father was alive he made everything in his power to keep us close. But now that he is gone she doesn't have any reason to try caring about me, so…"

Now it was Logan's turn to realise the reasons behind Mega's secrecy regarding her past. He could understand that this wasn't easy for her and the fact that she was opening up to him made him feel a little more comfortable.

"OK, those were two questions so, my turn. Have you ever been in love? "  
"NO," he replied without hesitation. His tone has so harsh that she knew that it was a lie.  
"Drink."  
"Why?"  
"Because you are lying, your answer was too fast, too sure, it was obviously a defence mechanism. So drink or answer. I can see through that kind of lies like an open book."

Logan didn't try to fight back. He took his glass and emptied the content.

"Ok then. Was she Jean?"  
"Where did you hear about her?" he asked shocked.

The truth was that no one in the school was talking about her so it was quite odd to him that Megan knew Jean's name. He took the bottle and filled up his glass just to empty it again immediately.

Megan felt disappointed. This was the question that was torturing her since that night. She chose not to insist, she would get back on it later on.

"Have you ever been in love." He asked back, which surprised Megan. She was expecting a question about her father, her dagger, or this Stryker guy again.  
"I thought that I was a couple of times, but truly in love, I don't think I have ever been, so no. But I want to believe that one of these days I will." She looked at him and smiled, but she didn't get anything in return. So she moved to her next question "What happened to her?"

"You are not going to let it go aren't you?" He replied  
"Nope. Like you are not going to let go about this Stryker guy."  
"Sorry, you are going to have to find another topic." He gulped his drink in one shot.

That was the moment when Megan realised that if she wanted to get some answers regarding this matter she had to do something more drastic. Then she had an idea. It was a long shot but she remembered Kitty saying "I've seen him caring in his own way for all of us" "ok let's see how much he is actually capable of carrying, " she thought. She then took the bottle and stood in front of him.

"Ok, apparently I am playing on my own so, change of rules. Every time you choose not to answer, I drink. I have a really low tolerance for alcohol so please start answering before I pass out. So, who is Jean?

"This is not what we agreed." He said and stood up hoping that she would get intimidated and stop whatever this was.  
"My game, my rules," she said and drunk a sip directly from the bottle.  
"Come on girl, you are going to hurt yourself."

He approached her but she walked back trying to keep her distance.

"Then start answering. What happened to her. "  
"Stop it." He said and tried to take back the bottle, but Megan was faster. She stepped back while swallowing another mouthful.

Logan was starting to get mad but also really worried. He didn't want her to get hurt or in trouble for this.

"I said stop it, put that down." He barked again but this didn't scare her, after all, they already had a big fight, what's the worse that could happen?  
"Give me something. " She said and brought the bottle to her lips one more time.  
"I killed her," Logan screamed before she had the time to drink and another sip.

Her heart broke. She felt her legs go weak and her breath being taken away. She couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Ok. I...I… I am going to need more than that," she managed to say trying to look as calm as possible, thinking that it there had to be some reasonable explanation for what Logan just said. She refused to believe that the man that saved her that day, the man that was haunting all her thoughts the last couple of days may be capable of something so terrible. She couldn't be so wrong about him, there must be an explanation.

"Let sit down, shall we? "

They both sat back on the stairs. Megan got as close as possible to him and put her hand on his knee. She felt that this might help him feel some kind of comfort. Logan kept his eyes downcast, clearly struggling to start talking.

"She was the first person that I met when I came here…" He finally said when he gathered enough strength to recall his painful story.

He went through all the details of how the came to know each other, how they thought she died that day at the lake, how she became the Phoenix and finally how she almost killed everyone. The feelings that he had for her became quite clear to Megan which made her feel a little jealous.

"… I stuck my claws in her heart and watched her die in my arms…" He finally reached the end of his tale.

He took the bottle and poured some more alcohol in his glass when he realised he felt like somebody had come and lifted his pain away. Megan, on the other hand, was petrified from what she had just heard and was trying to think of what she should say next.

"You did the right thing, you know that right? "  
"It doesn't feel that way."

They stayed there for a couple of seconds, staring at each other.

"I guess you know everything there is to know about me, so tell me now, what do you know about Stryker? Why do you have daggers made of Adamantium?" Logan broke the silence.

At this moment Megan realised that her hand was still on his knees. She retracted it and felt her cheeks blushing. She was also feeling a bit light headed.

"The name Stryker is indeed familiar to me. My father used to work for him when I was a kid. I guess that explains the Adamantium blades. I also remember that my father didn't work for him for too long. I caught him one night telling my Mum that the experiments that they were doing were outrageous and he didn't want to be a part of it anymore. He quit not long after that. After that, we moved from town to town until my father found a job here and we finally settled down permanently. Unfortunately, I really don't know anything else, I swear."

As moment she finished she could feel that this wasn't the answer that Logan was hoping for, and it was clear that he was getting frustrated again.

"But…" She continued before he could say anything, "Boy you get upset really easily. My father used to keep records of his work. I know where his files and diaries are and I will give them to you. I can't promise you will actually find something, but if my father is connected to your past then it's going to be in there . We can go tomorrow if you want."

"Sounds good," he answered.  
"Good! I am going to bed now, I'm feeling really tired." She stood up and gave him her sweetest smile. "Goodnight Logan," she said and starting walking towards the door.  
"Hey, Megan."

She stopped and turned around. Logan stood up and caught up with her. He wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to say but he felt that the conversation ended quite suddenly.

"Thank you," he finally said. "And sorry about this morning."

A sorry and a thank you from him, that was really unexpected. She was dying to stay more and keep talking with him but for some reason, she wasn't feeling very well.

"Anytime. See you tomorrow." She said and walked away.

Back in her room Megan closed the door, behind her and felt a crushing pain in her chest. She felt like her heart was being ripped apart not so much physically, but emotionally. Like if she was reliving all the pain she went through, combined with everything Logan had told her. She lay down on her bed and started crying like she had not done for many years. She struggled to understand what was it that made her so emotional while trying to calm herself down. But in vain.


	6. Chapter 6

The following morning Megan struggled to get out of bed. She could feel her head ready to explode but she dragged herself out of it and followed the sweet smell of freshly made coffee coming out of the kitchen. Like every morning, Storm was there preparing breakfast for the younger kids.

"Good morning you. Coffee? You look like you really need one."

Her comment made Megan realize that maybe she looked as bad as she felt.

"Yes please, I didn't sleep very well," Megan answered and sat on one of the kitchen stools.  
"How are you? We didn't see you at all after the incident with Logan." Storm put a cup of coffee in front of Megan.  
"Thank you, everything is good, we sorted it out."  
"Really? When did that happen?" Storm replied surprised that they actually managed to talk without alarming the whole school.  
"Last night." Her answer was short; she wasn't in the mood to tell the whole story this early in the morning.

Before Storm could push for more details, Logan appeared at the door.

"Here you are, I was looking for you. What's wrong with you, you look awful. Hangover eh?"

Megan rolled her eyes wondering why that was his first comment.

"I'm fine, I just didn't sleep very well."  
"Well you better recover fast, we have a long day ahead."  
"Emm what are you talking about?" Storm intervened.  
"Emm I… I promised Logan something. It's not a big deal." She knew her answer wouldn't satisfy Storm but it was worth a try.  
"What are you up to, you two?"

Logan felt that Megan wasn't in the mood to explain herself and honestly neither was he.

"We will tell you after we come back." He said in an attempt to end the conversation.  
"Does the professor know about it?" Storm did trust Logan's judgment, but she couldn't help being curious about the sudden alliance between them.  
"I said we 'll tell you when we come back," Logan repeated with a much firmer tone.  
"Very well. Just try to stay safe and don't do anything stupid."

Seeing that Storm had let go of the matter he looked back at Megan.

" _Thank you,_ " she mouthed.  
"I'll see you in an hour at the garage ok?" She just nodded her head as an answer and Logan left the room.  
"By the way, I meant to ask you, did you by any chance find my keys or wallet that night?"  
"Oh, yes we did, they are in my office. Come with me?"

The two women entered Storm's office. Storm opened one of her desks' drawers and pulled out Megan's belongings.

"We found your wallet, keys, and phone. Is that all?"  
"Yes, thank you very much." She grabbed everything and immediately checked her phone, but apparently the battery had run out.  
"Can I borrow a charger please?"  
"Sure, here, take mine." Storm pulled out a charger and gave it to her.  
"Thanks, I've got to run, see you later."  
"One last thing, I want you to remember that I am here for you if you need somebody to talk."

Megan looked at her, she knew that she could trust every single person in this house but she felt comfortable only with one of them.

"I know, thank you." She replied and run to her room to get ready.

One hour later Megan arrived at the garage where Logan was already waiting for her.

"Ready?" He asked as soon as he saw her.  
"Yep, let's go," she walked towards the car and opened the passenger's door. "Can we stop by my apartment before? I need to take some clothes and other stuff?"  
"You don't live at your parents' house?" Logan asked surprised before sitting in the driver's seat.  
"No, not since my father died. Plus, I wanted to be near the Uni so I found another place to stay."  
"Yeah, ok," Logan said and turned on the engine.

* * *

They finally arrived in a very cute neighborhood with new and nice buildings. Logan parked the car in front of a four-storye building with a small garden in the front. They got out and Megan opened the garden's gate followed by Logan.

"Megan you're back? What happened, I haven't seen you in a couple of days." An old man poked his head out of a bush. It was Mr. Daniels the building manager that was taking care of the garden.  
"Hello Mr. Daniels, how are you?" Megan replied.  
"Very well, thank you. Listen," he answered walking towards them "Yesterday a man came by." He continued when he was close enough to be heard only by them "he was asking about you. Where you were, when was the last time I saw you and stuff like that. I didn't really like his face, he looked like those villains you see in movies."

Megan and Logan looked at and each other.

"Anyway, I told him nothing, not that I knew anything anyway. I thought you should know".  
"Thank you, Mr. Daniels. If he comes again just tell him, I moved out. I will come later to pick my stuff and pay you my rent. Thank you for the heads up."  
"One last thing. I have always liked you, you look like a great gal, if you are in any trouble there are people that can help you, you know?"

His concern was obvious, but Megan was worried that telling him anything could put his life in danger.

"Thank you for your concern but I will be ok," she tried to reassure him by giving him her sweetest smile. She then turned back to Logan "Let's go, we don't have much time." She said to him and they both entered the building.  
"We really need to find out who is after you, and what it is they want from you." Logan finally said once in the elevator.  
"One thing at a time. I will deal with that later."

Her apartment was a small one bedroom and a separate kitchen-living room, just enough space for a student living on their own.

"Make yourself comfortable, I will put some stuff in a bag, change, and we 'll be good to go."

She left the living room and Logan took the chance to scan the apartment, trying to find any clues about her and her life. At the same time searching for anything that could point to what was going on, and who was after her. But everything was as anyone would expect a student's place to look like. Books and papers everywhere, happy photos on the wall, nothing to indicate that something was wrong. He then headed to Megan's room to see if she needed any help, when he noticed that the door wasn't completely closed. He leaned forward trying to see through the crack. Megan was standing in front of a mirror, with him facing her back. She was wearing black army pants with just her bra on the top. Logan's conscience was screaming at him to face away and go return to the living room, but the show was too beautiful to walk away from. He stood there, breathless, looking at her. She opened the drawer in front of her, took a black t-shirt and put it on. She then turned and grabbed a sports bag from the bed and walked to the door. Unfortunately for Logan, he was still too lost admiring the view to react before Megan opened the door.

"What are you doing here? Do you want something," She asked when she saw him.  
"I... I was ... I came to see if you are ready to go," he stuttered out.  
"Well, I am ready, we can go. But before, I have to ask," she paused for suspense, "did you like what you saw?"

She had realized that Logan had taken a sneak peek of her thought the crack. After all, he was a man like any other.

"What do you mean I," the question caught him unprepared, he didn't think she could have seen anything from where she had been standing.  
"Come on, I saw you in the mirror. It was a little creepy, but I will take it as a compliment. So?"  
"It was not bad." He finally admitted, which made her laugh.  
"Ok, I will take that. Let's go."

After their little detour, they finally arrived at her family house. It was a classic two story building - kitchen living room, dining room and study on the first floor, and 3 bedrooms on the second. Even if everything was still in place, it was obvious that nobody had lived there for a while. Being there brought back a lot of memories, so she decided to speed things up so they could leave as quickly as possible. She opened the door of her father's office, which was located in the back area of the house, Logan right behind her. She pushed the button on the side of the door to open the lights and she turned, facing the desk. And then she felt her blood freeze. A man dressed head to toe in black was standing behind it, aiming a gun at her. She was so terrified that she couldn't breathe. When Logan realized the situation he jumped in front of her, pushing her to the ground and placing his body as a shield. His sudden movement caught the man by surprise and he opened fire.

"LOGAN NOOO!" Megan screamed with all her strength she had when she heard the gunfire.

The image of her dead father laying on that very same spot flashed in front of her eyes. It took the man three shots to realize that the bullets didn't have any effect on Logan, which was probably why he decided to turn around and escape through the open window behind him. Logan immediately ran after him but before jumping from the window he paused to take a look at Megan.

She was on the floor, trembling, staring into space. She looked so shocked that he decided to let the unknown man go, mostly worried that there could be more and Megan didn't look in position to protect herself.

He knelled in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he said. But Megan didn't answer, she kept staring into space."Can you hear me? Hey, answer me!"

Logan insisted while putting his hand on her shoulder. His touch brought her back. She looked at him trying to understand just HOW was he still alive.

"He shot you! He shot you three times. How … Why?"  
"It takes a lot more than that to take me down. Healing factor, you should have known that by now."

Megan remembered Storm mentioning that power, but at the time, she hadn't realized what exactly it meant.

She was still staring at his chest where the only proof that he was shot were the holes in his shirt and the blood around them. She lifted her hand and caressed his chest where the bullets had hit him, trying to realize how this was possible.

"He shot you." She murmured again.  
"Hey look at me. Look at me." Logan insisted and put his hand on Megan's cheek to force her to look into his eyes.  
"I am alright ok? Now try to calm down, let's take those notebooks and get the hell out of here before they come back, ok?"  
"They are coming back?" She asked panicked.  
"I don't know and I don't want to find out with you here, so let's just go"

He stood up and helped her do the same.

"So, where are those notebooks?"  
"Behind the picture frame over there, there is a safe." She said while pointing at a nice family photo on the wall.

Logan put down the frame carefully, took out his claws and gave it a strong punch forcing the safe open.

"Erh, actually I knew the safe code."  
"So why you didn't tell me?"  
"Because you didn't give me the time to react!"  
"Whatever, bring a bag we don't have time."

While they were putting the journals in the bag, Megan realized that her father's desk was a mess, papers all over the floor, the drawers open and emptied. Whoever that person was, he was looking for something and he wasn't expecting company.

"He was looking for something," she remarked. Logan stopped and looked over the mess around.  
"It looks like it. Have you thought that they may be after those journals? Is there anything in there that could interest them."  
"I don't know. As I already told you I have no idea what's in there," she sighed.  
"Do you know anybody that was involved with your father's work."  
"Again, no," she answered slightly annoyed.

They finished stuffing the bag and went back running to the car. Logan turned on the engine and drove away as fast as possible.

* * *

After a while, they found themselves driving outside the city in an awkward silence. Megan was contemplating, looking outside of her window at the small forest alongside the road. She was still thinking about what happened and trying to find what was the meaning of it all. The scene for the man in her father's office and the sound of the gun shooting at Logan kept coming to her mind.

" _Who are those guys and that did they want do they want from me? Why me? Do they have something to do with my father's death? The police never found who did it and why."_ She started feeling like suffocating and tears came up to her eyes.

"Can you stop the car please?" She finally found enough air to talk.  
"What?"  
"Can you stop the car?" She asked again.  
"We are in the middle of nowhere, can you wait until -"  
"Stop the car now!" She yelled feeling that she was about to break down.

Logan hit the break and pulled the cat on the side of the road. Megan jumped out and ran towards the forest.

"What is wrong with you?" Logan opened his door getting out of the car as well and going after her.  
"Just leave me alone!" She yelled running deeper in the forest looking for a place to hide and cry without anybody seen her.  
"What the hell," Logan asked himself and continued running after her.

Logan finally reached her and grabbed her arm stopping her.

"What is happening? Talk to me?" He roared at her worried as hell.  
"I.. I.. I can't breathe," she choked.  
"Come here." He pulled her into his arms and embraced her, making her finally break down in tears.  
"Why is this happening? Who are these people and what do they want from me?" She managed to say between sobs.  
"I don't know kid, but I won't let them hurt you, I promise you. We will find out everything."  
"I thought they killed you." She said and buried her face in Logan's chest.  
"Hey don't worry about me I've seen worst."  
"I know." She answered. "I thought I lost you." She murmured softly.

She was feeling so safe in his arms that she wished the moment would never end.

"Look at me."

Megan raised her face to meet his eyes.

"I am fine and you are safe with me. Everything is going to be alight. Ok?"

She nodded and they stood there for a couple of seconds staring into each others eyes. Logan kept looking at her while Megan slowly started raising to her tiptoes, but then suddenly, he let her go.

"Come on, it's getting dark and we should head back." He said while turning around.

Megan just stood there immobile for a while, wondering what just happened.

" _What on earth were you thinking? Did you really think he will ever be interested in you?"_ She thought to herself and followed him, feeling dejected and a little ashamed.

They didn't say a word for the rest of the trip.

* * *

It was already dark when they arrived at the mansion. They both went straight to the lab where they found Storm and the Professor waiting .

"Finally! We were starting to worry. Where were you?" Storm asked as soon as the came in.

Logan threw the bag with the notebooks on the desk.

"My father used to keep notes of his work. I promised to give them to Logan in case there was anything in there about his past."  
"And by the way" Logan added. "There was somebody else there already, looking for something and I've got a feeling that he was after those."  
"Did you manage to take a good look at him? " The Professor ask worried.  
"No, I was too busy trying to keep her safe."

The professor looked at Megan waiting for her answer.

"Oh, no I was too busy screaming."  
"That's ok Megan don't worry. Maybe we will find some answers in there. Shall we?" He pointed at the bag.  
"Actually, if that's ok with you I'm going to leave you to it. I need to recover from today's roller-coaster and frankly, if my father was involved in anything awful I don't really want to know."  
"That's ok girl. We can call you if we find anything that you might want to know." Storm said.  
"Maybe. I'm going for a run to clear my head, I will catch up with you later. " She said and left the room.

Thirty minutes passed as the three of them were digging through the notebooks, until Logan banged the one he was reading on the table.

"There is nothing in there, " The frustration was clear in his voice. After all, he wasn't a man of patience. "What about you Professor? Storm? "  
"Nothing yet," Storm looked at the Professor and noticed that he was staring at the wall like he had spaced out.  
"Can you please do me a favor Logan?" He finally said. "Can you go check on Megan? She has been gone for a while now."  
"What, am I her babysitter now?" he answered still frustrated. Both the professor and Storm kept looking pointedly at him.  
"Ok, I am going."

* * *

Back to her room Megan was folding the clothes that Storm lent her and left them in a small pile on the bed. She then grabbed her sports bag that and turned to reached for her cell phone.

"What is going on in here? Where the hell are you going?"

Logan had just walked into the room.

"Damn it," she murmured to herself, trying to find a good excuse for planning to leave in the middle of the night.  
"Well, you got what you wanted, my shoulder is healed and I am not a mutant so I don't see any reason for me to stay here."

She hoped that this excuse will be enough to get Logan off her back . But it wasn't.

"If you want to leave why don't you wait until the morning? Why are you leaving like you have something to hide? "

Logan took a couple of steps towards her, clearly mad.

"I don't like goodbyes, it's better like this. Just let it go, will you?"

Logan's gaze was getting increasingly angrier.

"Why are you lying to me? You spent hours yesterday telling me how important it is for having somebody to trust and about how you wanted us to be open with each other. And now you are lying right into my face? Where you full of bullshit yesterday? "

Megan closed her eyes and bit her lips, desperately trying to find a way out. She didn't want Logan believing that the other night was just an act. It was real, and she wanted him to remember it.

"I meant every single word I said, don't you ever doubt that" she begged.  
"Really? So what the hell is this? Why do you want to leave? Just tell me damn it."

It has the first time in a long time that he let himself being comfortable and open with someone, and now he was facing what looked like a well planed act. He was feeling completely betrayed.

"I can't, I'm sorry."  
"This is your last chance to tell me." He warned her, but Megan remained silent.  
"Very well." He said and turned around to leave. But as soon as he reached the door, Megan, not being able to withstand the thought of that being the last thing she ever told him, she cried:

"I am falling for you Logan!"

Logan stopped shocked, turned around.

"What?" He made a couple of steps back towards her.

Megan took a deep breath.

"I have been falling for you since the first moment we talked in that bar, and you can't imagine how much it meant to me when I said that I want you to be the person I can trust. But you made it pretty clear, many times, that it is not mutual, so yes… I am leaving. I am leaving before I fall completely and madly in love with you. It might be hard for me doing so now, but I know that if I stay it is going to be even more painful with us being just friends. So I am leaving before I get hurt, and I am doing it in such a way because the thought of saying goodbye to you was killing me."

An agonizing silence fell in the room. Megan was desperately waiting for any kind of reaction and Logan, on the other hand, was trying to process that he had just heard.

"Now if you'll excuse me…" Megan finally broke the silence and moved to walk past Logan.

But before getting too far, he seized her hand and pulled her into his arms. Logan looked into her eyes, he brought his free hand up and smoothed it into her hair at the nape of her neck. He leaned closer towards her until Megan could feel his warm breath comforting her. Then he kissed her softly but intensively. Her heart skipped a beat, she lost the feeling of her legs and stopped breathing.

"Mmm, wait, wait" She managed to stop him completely out of breath, interrupting the moment that she believed would stay just a dream.  
"What?" Logan replied confused.  
"I like you too much for this to be a game. I beg you, don't do it if you don't really mean it."

He caressed her cheek and smiled.

"Look…" Megan's heart sunk a little and she prepared herself for the worst. "I admit that I have been a jerk to you this whole time, which is more or less the way I am with everybody. But with you, it was because I've been trying to push you away. The last time I felt like this for a woman, she ended up dying in my arms, and feeling that way again frightens me. I don't want this to end up badly again. But seeing you ready to leave made me realize that not having you in my life it's even more terrifying."

Megan couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"I am not going anywhere if you don't want me to."

Her answer made him smile and he kissed her with even more passion than before.


	7. Chapter 7

It was late in the morning when Logan woke up. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept that well. Megan was still asleep, her back towards him. He noticed a semi-healed scar on her left side shoulder. It had been less than a week since the incident, but it looked better than anyone could hope for. He put his hand on her shoulder and gently caressed it with his thumb. His warm touch woke her up. She turned to face him and smiled.

"Hey you," she said  
"Hey sleepyhead," he replied.  
"I didn't want to wake up. I was too afraid that all this was just a dream."

Logan smiled and put a soft kiss on her lips.

"What is it?" she asked when she noticed a slight concern on his face.  
"I hate to ruin the moment, but maybe we should get up and see if Storm and the Professor made any progress."

She took a deep breath. She wished they could stay in bed all day, just the two of them, and forget about the notebooks, the mysterious men and everything bad that happened recently. But she knew that she couldn't hide forever and that she would have to face her father's past.

"I guess, yes," she finally agreed.

Once ready, Logan opened the door to get out of the room, just to come face to face with Storm. Megan, who was just behind him, felt her cheeks turn red from embarrassment. Storm, on the other hand, didn't look too surprised.

"Well, I was just looking for you two. The Professor is waiting for you in his office," she said trying as hard as possible to act like nothing out of the ordinary was happening.  
"It's about my father's journals isn't it?" Megan asked concerned, "I have a bad feeling about this."  
"It's going to be fine." Logan softly tried to reassure her.

When they entered the office, Megan felt her stomach tightening. The Professor was waiting for them, one of the journals laid on his desk. Judging by the look on his face, last night they did find something, and it was going to be hard to hear it.

"Good morning Miss Wild, Logan." the Professor said as soon as they came in. "Please sit," he continued.

She nervously sat on the chair in front of the desk while Logan remained standing next to her.

"It's bad, isn't it?" she asked trying to get ahead of the situation.

"Depends on what you consider as bad," he wisely replied. "I have to say that your father's work is impressive, and as you suspected, we were able to shed some light on the situation. I will start with the matter that is currently the most important to you. Your father knew Stryker, and he indeed did work for him for a couple of years."

Her heart sunk. She couldn't bear the thought that her father was working for a man who was conducting experiments on mutants.

"He was working there when they started experimenting with adamantium, and he had access to it. This explains where he found the daggers he gave you. But eventually, the experiments were becoming more and more cruel until the day he couldn't bear to be a part of it anymore and quit. This happened before what they did to you, Logan."

"Thank God," she murmured relieved.

But the news where bittersweet, that meant that there was nothing in there that could help Logan to unravel his unknown past. She looked up at him.

"I'm so sorry, I really thought that you would find something," she said.  
"It's ok kid, I didn't have high hopes. I'll be alright," he smiled and stroked her shoulder.  
"Is that it? " she asked looking back to the Professor.  
"I'm afraid no, there is something else. Much more important. What do you remember of your mother's death? "  
"What does my mother has to do with this?" She struck back annoyed. She didn't like talking about it, and she felt like the conversation was drifting from its original purpose.  
"We are really sorry for bringing up such a personal matter, but we need to know. " The Professor gently insisted.  
"She was sick for a while and then she lost the battle. What exactly do you want to know?"  
"Did she get better at a certain point? "

Logan started to feel the discomfort that this particular conversation was putting her in.

"Professor, with all due respect I don't see how this has anything to do with the matter," he said.  
"I know how difficult it might be for her to talk about it, but I need to know what she remembers. Megan?" Charles looked at her waiting for answers.  
"She did recover for a short amount of time. I was a matching donor so we did the operation. She got better but then she rejected the transplant that's it."  
"Do you remember anything from the operation?"

Megan froze for a while trying to reach deep into her memories. She quickly realised that she didn't remember anything. Everything she knew was only from what her father had told her.

"I.. Don't., actually," she finally answered feeling more and more confused.

The Professor handed her the notebook that was on the desk.

"I would like you to read the entries we marked".

Megan opened the notebook at the first marked page. She took a deep breath and started reading out loud so Logan could hear too.

" _They called today, in the middle of the night. It was time… I woke up the girls and we rushed to the hospital. I knew it was going to be a horrible experience, but I wanted them to have the chance to say goodbye to their mother. Nothing could have prepared me for what happened._

 _Megan was holding her mother's hand and crying, begging her not to go... when suddenly, her hand started to glow white and she started screaming like she was being stabbed._

 _I tried… I tried to_ _separate them_ _, but a wave of energy pushed me down._

 _When I stood up again, everything had stopped. The light, the screaming..._

 _Megan was laying down unconscious. The screaming had caught the doctor's attention who rushed into the room when I heard my wife voice asking what_ _was happening_ _._

 _She was_ _a_ _live_ _and aware_ _. The doctors took both of them to the emergency room for examination. When they came back, they told me that all of Natalie's tests came back clear. They said it was a miracle and that they_ _had_ _never seen anything like it. Was it really a miracle?_

 _Then they gave me the bad news. Megan was barely surviving and they couldn't find the cause of it. They asked me to describe what happened but I couldn't tell them. I said that she had just collapsed out of nowhere. The next hours are going to be crucial but she is strong, she can make it. She WILL make it. And when she does, I will have to find a way to fix it before it's too late. Before anybody finds out._ "

The entry was over. Megan looked at the Professor.

"I don't understand. What… What does that mean?" she stuttered, trying to make sense out of what she had just read. This want's the story she had told herself the past 15 years.

"She is a mutant?" Logan asked before the Professor could answer the question.  
"No, I' m not. Don't you think I would know something like that?" Megan fired back.  
"You are, sweetie," Storm jumped in, "You are one of us."  
"It doesn't make any sense. I would have noticed something all those years."  
"Go to the second marked entry and keep reading," the Professor said.

Megan did she was told.

" _It's back… It's back and it's even more aggressive than the last time. I am worried that Megan's power may kick in again if she finds herself in the same situation. I have to find a cure before it kills her._ "

Megan turned the book to the third marked page without stopping. It was better to get to the end of it and then ask for more answers.

" _It's been almost a year since Natalie died and we didn't have any major incident but I can't risk it. Today I took a sample of the cure that I've been working on from the lab. I know that it's at a very early stage, but I can't wait until it's approved. It might be dangerous I know, but it is even more dangerous to leave my daughter with those powers. I will give it to her tonight._ "

She reached the end of the notebook and Storm took the journal from her hand and put it on the desk.

"Do you understand what happened?" Storm asked.  
" What am I supposed to be?"

"We call mutants with your kind of powers, healers," the professo _r began_ to explain. "You have a powerful gift but if you don't learn to control it can be very dangerous for yourself. Healers use their own energy to heal superficial wounds or broken bones permanently. You can also intervene in somebody's mental state. You can take away the psychological pain, like grief, for a certain amount of time depending on the individual.

But when it comes to illnesses like your mother's, that are due to DNA or cell defects, there is no much that you can do. You can not alter any of them, so any attempt will only have temporary results. That's what happened with your mother. That day when you saw her dying it cause your mutation to manifest. You cured her symptoms, but as I said, it was only temporary. You were lucky to survive that day, let me tell you, and I understand why your father took extreme measures after that."

The Professor paused to give Megan the opportunity to express any thoughts or questions. She didn't look like she was able to say anything. She was facing the Professor, but her gaze was lost in space. After a short moment, she finally reacted.

"So, what now? I mean from what I understood I am not a mutant anymore so what is the point of me knowing that?"  
"Because you are still one. Mutation is not an illness; it can't be cured. The cure that your father gave you only blocks it. A couple of years ago the government released a so-called cure for mutants."

"I remember that. It was all over the TV."

"We know people who decided to take this cure, and I can guarantee you that after a while their powers came back. Honestly, I am surprised that you haven't had any signs, but I guess that since you didn't know that you had them, you never looked for them. Have you ever experienced something weird when you touch other people?"

"No, I am sorry. I think I would have noticed if I was able to do strange things."  
"This is crucial. Has touching somebody ever left you feeling weak, exhausted or emotionally drained? "  
"No, I used to have a pretty normal li…," she stopped in the middle of her sentence.  
"What is it?"The professor asked feeling that Megan was slowly putting clues together.  
"Nothing, it's stupid."  
"Tell us, it might be a lead," he insisted.

"Many times when friends talk to me about their problems, I noticed that if I hold their hand or hug them, they feel more at ease. And usually, they tell me that they feel much better. On the other hand, I end up feeling sad, and I don't know...It's like I can feel their pain. It goes way after a couple of hours, so I always thought that I am just very sensitive. "

"Good, that is exactly what we're looking for. Any recent event like this?"

A lump came to her throat. She realised that is sounded a lot like what happened with Logan two days before as well as the day that she entered his room to wake him up from his nightmare. She thought about telling them what happened, but she wanted to keep it between the two of them.

She remained silent and just shook her head.

"That's ok. As you might already know, this school's purpose is to provide a safe place for young mutants. It's also a place where we teach them to use and control their powers. Yours haven't surfaced at their fullest yet, but there is a strong possibility that one day they will. That is why I hope you'll let us help you. We can guide you through the process so you don't get hurt. Will you ?"

Megan slowly stood up.

"I don't know. I need some time to think about it," she said and walked out without any warning.  
"I'm going to talk to her," Storm said and made a move towards the door.  
"No," Logan cut her off, "she has a lot to process, she doesn't need any more pressure on the top of it. I will talk to her when she calms down."  
"I don't think you are the most qualified person in here to do that."  
"It's ok Ororo, I am more than confident that he can convince her to make the right choice. "

* * *

Megan rushed out in the garden and sat down on a bench. She faced the sun and tried to relax under the warm sunshine.

Last night she thought that the worst was over, but apparently fate had more surprises for her. She had expected a lot to come out from those notebooks but nothing like that. She was a mutant and for all these years she had no idea. She felt getting angrier at the thought that her father took such drastic measures without giving her the opportunity to choose for herself. It's true that she was just a child at the time, but it was her power, her life.

"They sent you to convince me? " she said when she felt Logan's presence behind her.  
"Yes, but this is not why I am here."

He sat next to her.

"So why are you here?"  
"To make sure that you are not running away again. But mainly just in case you need to let something out."  
"I told you I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to. But I was thinking about the other night."  
"What about it?"  
"At some point, I remember putting my hand on your knee."  
"You did. And I indeed felt relieved. I wasn't feeling any sadness while talking to you. "  
"I was… but I was glad that you were finally opening up to me."

Silence fell between them for a while.

"Come on, I have an idea that will help you let some steam off," Logan said finally.  
"Please, I can't handle any more surprises," she nagged back.  
"You will like it, come on."

She let a sweet groan while standing up and followed him. They went down to the basement, where Logan opened a door to a room that she hadn't seen before. In the middle of it, there was a table with some clothes on it. There were strange grey suits with a big "X" across the chest.

"Where are we?" she asked, her curiosity slowly growing.

"This is a discussion for another time, " he answered while opening a chest of drawers, "I came here for those." He continued and took out two very familiars daggers.  
"Well, hello you two. I missed you," she said with a hint of humour in her voice. "Is this the weapon room or something?" she asked again hoping to get an answer this time.  
"You could call it that way. Now follow me."

They both left the room and headed towards the gym.

"I am really trying to understand what's your in mind, " Megan pointed out once inside.  
"You said you have had training in martial arts, show me what you've got."  
"You wanna fight? Are you crazy? I'm not fighting you."  
"Why are you afraid? Don't worry I will go easy on you. "

His last comment made her giggle. The truth was that most of the time she was a calm and rational person, but she couldn't resist a good challenge.

"Ok then, you asked for it," she said, a half-smile drawn on her lips.

She threw both her daggers in the air, let them spin for a couple of times and grabbed them right back. In a quick move, she slashed her right hand downwards. Logan took a step back to avoid it. She did the same with her left hand. Before finishing her move, she raised her right leg and landed a strong kick on Logan's arm. On impact, she felt an excruciating pain like she had just hit a rock.

"Fucking hell, that hurt!" she screamed while kneeling down.  
"Adam-"  
"Adamantium skeleton yeah yeah I remembered now," she said between groans.  
"Are you ok? Do you give up?" Logan said, getting concerned.  
"It's going away. I'm ok," she said and stood up still a little unsteady.

She took a deep breath and before Logan had time to realise, she struck again. Three times he dodged the attacks before instinctively pulling out his claws to block the forth. Blades and claws clashed sending up sparks. Caught in the tension he pushed her back with too much force, making her lose her balance and fall. In a blink of an eye, she rolled on her shoulder pulling herself back on her feet. Logan didn't wait much before charging again. Megan held her right dagger up to her face to block the attack. But the shock of the hit sent it flying across the room.

She was starting to feel that it was a lost cause when it hit her. She had learnt the hard way that his adamantium skeleton protected Logan's body, but there was a part of it that was exposed like any other human's. She immediately grabbed his shoulder to allow herself more balance while lifting her leg. She gathered all her strength and plunged her knee in his stomach. This time, Logan felt the pain and momentarily lost his focus. Megan seized the opportunity, got down on one knee and with her other leg, swept his feet from behind, forcing him to fall down on his back. Once on the ground she straddled him, brought her face close to his and gently put the knife on his throat.

"Gotcha," she softly said.  
"Not bad," he replied which made her smile. He then gently guided her chin towards him and laid a soft kiss on her lips.

Logan was right, this little "fight" had indeed let some steam off, she was now feeling a little bit calmer. But despite the sweet moment, Megan felt that something was bothering him.

"What is it?" she asked him.

He sighed. "You have to let the Professor train you."

"And there it is,"

She got off and sat next to him, frustrated that they were back to this argument.

"Look, I know what you are going through. I woke up one day in the middle of nowhere. I couldn't remember who I was, how I ended up there or how I got those," he held his hand up. "Back then I didn't have anybody to help me, but you... You were lucky enough to find out about it surrounded but people that have dedicated their life to help and teach people like us. I know it's terrifying and confusing, but you are in good hands. I won't say that it's going to be easy, but it's your best option."

She to turned to look at him.

"Will you be there with me?"  
"Of course, I will."  
"Ok then..."


	8. Chapter 8

Megan stormed into the lab out of breath.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, I overslept" she tried to apologise between breaths.  
"Good morning Megan. It's ok. Please come in."

She closed the door behind when she realised that it was just the two of them.

"Where is everybody else?" she asked.  
"We will meet them in a minute. I wanted to have a quick talk with you before we start training."  
"Oh, ok sure," she said surprisingly felt a bit anxious about it. She realised that she had never been alone with the Professor even though he was the one running this place.

"You've been through a lot lately and I'm not going to lie to you, what comes next won't be any easier. I wanted to make sure that you took everything we told you into consideration and that you feel ready."

The truth was that she wasn't feeling ready at all but she was also too stubborn to back down. She gritted her teeth determined to reach the end of it.

"I spent all night thinking about it, so yes I think I'm ready," she affirmed.  
"Good, follow then."

Megan followed the professor outside and into another room that she had never been before. While entering, she could hear voices shouting and banging sounds like a war was in progress in there.

"What the hell," she exclaimed.

There was a big panel full of switches, lights and buttons. Behind it, there was a window looking into an immense room where Kitty and Body were fighting with something that resembled a huge robot in a post-apocalyptic landscape.

"You better start thinking of a new tactic because the last one didn't work," Logan shouted into a microphone, and his voice echoed all around the room.  
"Yeah, we can see that thank you!" Kitty yelled on the other side on the glass.  
"Professor that are you doing here?" Logan said when he realised his presence. He then looked at Megan and nodded at her, to which she responded with a sweet smile.  
"We are going to need the simulator."  
"Sure." "Training is over get your asses out here, we will continue tomorrow," Logan screamed into the microphone once again. He then turned a button and everything on the other side turned back into an empty room.  
"What on earth is that?" Megan asked baffled with what she just saw.  
"It's a simulation room. We use it to train our student for battle," the Professor explained.  
"Hello, Professor," both kids greeted once they joined them.  
"What brings you in here?" Kitty asked.  
"Well, our friend here is one of us. A healer to be exact. She had her powers suppressed, and now it's time to bring them back."  
"I knew it!" Bobby said full of excitement. "That couldn't be just a coinc -"  
"So what I'm supposed to do?" Megan cut him off. She was aware that most likely the Professor already knew everything, but she still didn't want to talk about it. Megan stared at Bobby in order to make him understand this.

Her stare was enough to make him blush. "Sorry," he murmured at her.

The professor looked at the two kids still standing in front of him.

"Ok, you two clowns, outside," Logan said to them.  
"Alright Megan," the professor said as soon as the two kids closed the door behind them" I want you to go inside the simulation room. I will create a situation that I believe will put you in a position to provoke your powers. When the moment comes, I want you to do exactly as I tell you. Keep in mind that taking it too far can be extremely dangerous."

Megan took a deep breath and opened the door. The room was huge and completely empty. Nothing was left to witness the mayhem that was happening in there a couple of minutes ago. She turned to look through the window wondering what the professor had in store for her.

He was sitting immobile, his eyes closed. Logan was speaking to him, but she couldn't hear anything.

"What do you have in mind professor?" Logan asked.  
"Unfortunately, she grew up without knowing how she is, so only an extreme situation will bring out what she has in her." At this point, the Professor reached for the console in front of him and fiddled around with the settings. He took a step back and closed his eyes again. Logan stood close to the window to observe what was going to happen.

Megan was silently waiting in the middle of the room when her surrounding started to change. She found herself facing a door overlooking a corridor full of people coming and going. She noticed that they were wearing white coats or blue scrubs. She could hear them talking, but she couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Megan? Is that you?" A voice called her from behind.

It sounded so familiar that her blood froze in her veins. She slowly turned around dreading what she was about to see.

"Oh God," she gasped and brought her hand to her mouth to muffle the sounds coming out of it.

A woman was laying down on a hospital bed, medical equipment all around her.

"Mum?" she said while approaching the bed.  
"Sweetie, what are you doing here? Where is your father?"

Megan felt her throat tighten. She could barely breathe. She looked up searching for the simulator's window to remind her that all this wasn't real, but she couldn't see it anymore.

"Is everything ok sweetie? You look worried," the woman said.  
"Yes I'm ok," Megan responded on the verge of tears.  
"I want you to take her hand and try to feel the energy flowing between you," the Professor's voice echoed in her head.  
"No," she replied.  
"It's the only way,"  
"I can't,"  
"Yes you can, just do as I said," the Professor insisted.

Megan put her hand on her mother's and closed her eyes trying to, as the Professor said, feel the energy flowing. She could hear her mother heavily breathing, and with every little sound, it was becoming more and more unbearable to her ears.

"It's not real, it's not real," she kept repeating to herself.  
"I don't feel anything," she said after only a couple of seconds and withdrew her hand, "I, sorry, I can't." At that point, she was feeling the lump in her throat tightening even further.  
"She's fighting it," Logan remarked from the other side of the glass.  
"I thought she might. We have to push her more," the Professor replied.

At the same moment, Megan noticed that suddenly she couldn't hear her mother's breathing anymore.

"What's going on?", she asked, but nobody responded. "Professor?" she insisted.

The machine started beeping frantically. Her mother lifted her hand trying to reach her while mouthing "Megan". Megan stepped back until she hit the wall. She put her hands on her ears to block the all the horrible sounds.

"Stop it!" she screamed.  
"You have to help her Megan," the Professor's voice echoed again. "You are the only one that can."  
"No, I can't. Make it stop. Please," she begged.

But the continuous beep from the heart monitor wouldn't stop. Megan sat down on the floor still covering her ears and closing her eyes to block everything that was happening around her. She felt tears drowning her.

"It's not real, it's not real," she repeated again.  
"That's enough!" Logan said peremptorily and rushed into the simulation room.

Once the door opened everything disappeared, but Megan didn't even notice.

Logan kneeled in front of her.

"Hey, you're ok. It's over. "

Megan slowly opened her eyes. She looked around the empty room to make sure that everything was back to normal.

"You are ok?" Logan asked again.

Megan looked at him and shook her head. Now that everything was over she was feeling disappointed that she hadn't found the strength to follow the Professor's directions.

That was when the Professor also entered the room to check on her.

"Are you alright," he asked when he joined them.

Megan jumped on her feet and inhaled deeply.

"Yes, I'm sorry."  
"Don't be. It wasn't easy, and I'm sorry for pushing you like this but this is the only way. I think it's enough for today, we can try again tomorrow. "

Megan lowered her head to avoid any eye contact with both men. The feeling that all of this was just a big mistake was growing inside her. Was it too late to change her mind?

"Sure," she answered, and without raising her head walked towards the exit.

Logan ran after her.

"Wait."

Megan stopped but didn't turn around to face him.

"Will you be ok? I have another training session now but I can find you later."

She kept her eyes on the floor, her right hand nervously rubbing her thigh.

"Sure, see you then."

She walked away, leaving Logan with a feeling of unease.

She went back to the ground floor, wandering around. Scenes of everything that happened the last few days kept flashing into her mind. She was being tiered of always feeling so confused and helpless. Was agreeing to all that really the right choice? What if she had decided to go back to her old life and just leave it alone? Would it be better?

She found herself if the main living room. She grabbed the guitar and sat on the couch. Music was a way she had found to help her calm down and put her thoughts in order. But she remained there staring at the strings unable to play anything.

"Everything ok?" Storm's voice broke the silence.

No matter how big the mansion was, it was so hard to stay alone for more than an instance.

"Yes," she responded.

Her answer didn't convince her.

"How did it go?"

Storm sat beside her.

"It was a disaster," she answered curtly.  
"Don't worry; nobody pulls it off on the first try."  
"I know, that's not the problem."  
"So what is it?"

Megan stayed silent.

"Do you want me to call somebody else to talk with? "Storm proposed when she realised what she couldn't get through to her.  
"No. please don't, "she anxiously replied.  
"Look I understand that you are a really private person but what happened to you is too much to handle on your own. We are here for you but you really need to trust us. Tell me what is going on, how you feel, what you are thinking?"

Megan sighed. Through the years she had to learn to rely only on herself and she didn't know otherwise. She put down the guitar.

"It's just that," She paused still trying to convince herself to let it out.  
"I woke up this morning telling myself to agree because it was the right thing to do. But it's not what I truly believe. All these years I was just fine, and I don't see why I should start poking around. If one day my powers come rushing back, then I will deal with it. So why did I agree to this? And then it hit me, I'm doing it because of him." She looked at Storm to seeking her reaction.  
"You mean Logan? I don't understand."  
"I truly like him, but if you look at us from a different angle we don't really make any sense together. We are from completely different worlds, and we don't have much in common."  
"So you thought that if you were able to get back your power and be like us it will make more sense?"  
"Yes, and the problem is that, even if I want this to work, I don't think that it should be the main reason for such a life changing decision. I should do it for me, not for being with someone."  
"So what do you want to do?"  
"I don't know. I can't think clearly right now."  
"Why don't you take a break? Take one of our cars, go in town, see your friends, do whatever you used to do before. Try to relax and clear your mind. Then come back and make a decision. As for Logan, I've seen the way he looks at you, trust me, it will not change no matter what your decision is."  
"Last time I went back somebody was waiting for me, do you really think it's safe?"  
"I'm sure you will be extra careful."  
"Yes, sounds like a plan."

* * *

Megan threw her phone in her purse and went down the stairs where Storm was waiting.

"Here are the keys. Promise me you'll be careful." She said.  
"I will. See you tonight."

Megan grabbed it and walked towards the garage.

A familiar figure was standing next to the car. She smiled. Of course, Strom had informed Logan of their little plan.

"This is not a good idea, " he said as soon as she reached him.  
"I'll be fine. I'll back in a couple of hours."

She pulled the door's handle but as soon as the door opened Logan close it back.

"They are still looking for you. You shouldn't go alone."

His concern drew a big smile on her face.

"I've been gone for days now; my friends are going to wonder where I am. I'm just going say hello and I'll come back again. If I see anything suspicious I swear I will call you. Agreed? "

None of what she just said made him feel more at ease but he let go of the door.

"Thank you."

She was about to get in when her phone rung.

"See what did I tell you, people are beginning to worry."

He groaned dissatisfied.

Megan took out she phone but instead of answering she kept staring at it.

"Aren't you going to get that?"  
"It's my sister," she answered baffled.  
"I thought you didn't talk to each other."  
"We don't," she said and brought the phone to her ear. " Elaine?"  
"Megan?" Elaine's voice was trembling; she was crying but was tried to hide it.  
"Elaine what's wrong?"  
"Megan help!" her scream echoed in the background this time.  
"Elaine? Elaine answer me? What's happening?"  
"Hello, Megan," a man responded this time.

This wasn't a familiar voice. Megan turned and looked at Logan. Her face had lost all color She had lost all colour and her eyes were filled with terror. It didn't take Logan long to realise that something bad had happened.

"Who the hell are you? What do you want with my sister?"

"It doesn't matter right now. Since you ignored my invitations so many times I thought that maybe with the help of your sister, you would finally accept."

"You lunatic, what do you want from me?"

Her whole body was tense, her fist so clenched so hard that her nails dug into her palm. Logan was still, carefully listening, trying to catch on the situation.

"You will know soon enough. For now, I want you to get on the main route and drive south. Alone. If you alert any of your new friends, whatever happens to her is on you. Are we clear?"  
"Yes," she agreed not knowing what else to do.

The man hanged up without any more explanations.

"What's happening?" Logan asked without wasting time.

Megan started passing up and down in panic. The man clearly instructed not to tell anyone.

"I asked you, what happened?" Logan insisted.

Megan stopped, her back turned to him. The fear of harming her sister with her choice was unbearable but she knew that asking for help was the right thing to do.

"He, he has my sister," she turned around, looking at the ceiling trying to retain her tears.

Logan approached her.

"I want you to go to the lab. I will go and find the team and we are going to come up with a plan."  
"He said that I should go alone."  
"This is not happening. Let's go."

They both run into the house. Logan heading to the classrooms while Megan ran to the elevator.

But when Logan entered the lab, followed by Bobby, everybody was there, but one.

"Where is Megan? " he asked.  
"We thought she was with you," Storm answered.  
"No, I told her to wait for us down here," he said and rushed out like he was running for his life.  
"Logan wait, what's going on," Storm screamed and ran after him.

She caught up with him at the garage entrance. He was looking at the empty parking space where they were just standing moments before, in disbelief.

"She left."


	9. Chapter 9

Megan pulled on the side of the road. She grabbed her phone, which she had hastily thrown on the passenger seat before leaving the manor in a rush, hoping that nobody would follow her.  
She had no idea what she had gotten herself into and no plan whatsoever. She squeezed the phone and banged her hand on the wheel. "What are you going to do?" she asked herself.  
The vibration running up her arm made her jump. Number unknown. Her heart tightened.

"Hello," she answered.  
"I just sent you the coordinates on your phone. Follow the directions. If somebody else shows up your sister is dead, understood?"  
"I understand. I want to talk to her." But the man on the other side had already hung up.  
She opened the coordinates on her GPS.  
"What the hell?" she exclaimed when she saw the location. It was an old military hospital, abandoned since the end the Second World War. She set the navigation and took the road again.

It took her one hour of agonised driving through deserted routes in the woods to finally arrive. She got off the car and looked around her. The building was in a really bad shape but clearly far from abandoned. High, electric fence was surrounding it. She could see only one entrance and it was a closed steel door. All windows had steel bars on them like they were trying to prevent someone or something from escaping. The atmosphere was really daunting and any help on being rescued was rapidly fading.

The door slowly opened and two heavily armed men run to her direction. She slowly held her hands up in the air to showing them she was unarmed. They opened the fence gate and aimed at her while approaching. Megan's body went completely numb but her heart was pounding so hard in her chest that she thought it would rip it apart.

One of them violently grabbed her, turned her around and pushed her so hard onto the car that it cut her breath. The other man started patting her hold body all over to make sure that she didn't have any weapon or bug on her.

"She's clear," he said.  
"Good. Move," the other replied while pushing her in front of them, guns up, ready to shoot her in the back at any suspicious move.

Megan clenched her jaw.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

But the only answer she got was a push on the back with the tip of the gun, ordering her to keep moving.

They entered the building and the door slammed behind them leaving them walking down a corridor in a deafening silence. They moved deeper into the building where she could slowly hear voices in the background. But she realised that they weren't just voices, they were screams. Screams that sent shivers down her spine.

"What is this place?" She tried once again to get some sort of information, but in vain.

They finally stopped in front of a closed door. One of the men knocked.

"Come in," a voice called, and he opened the door and pushed Megan in.

The two men stayed outside and closed the door behind her. She found herself facing a desk and a chair with its back turned to her. There was also a big screen with many different videos from various surveillance cameras. In one of them, she could see a person tied on a hospital bed, struggling and screaming while two other were trying to take blood from him. She felt sick to her stomach but she rapidly pulled herself together. She had to stay strong now more than ever.

"I finally found a way to bring you here. You gave me such a hard time you know." The chair slowly turned around. Finally, Megan could put a face on the voice from the other end of the line. It was a man in his late forties, early fifties. Grey hair, dark piercing eyes that gave Megan goosebumps. His face looked tired and troubled. He was wearing a white lab coat but nothing else to really to betray what he was.

"You grew up to be a beautiful woman," he added, looking at her from head to toe.  
"Do I know you?" she asked intrigued by his creepy comment.  
"I remember you, but I guess you were too young to remember me. I was one of the doctors that treated your mother. I was in my last year of intern back then."

Megan focuses on the man's face imagining how he would look 15 years ago. The memory of a young doctor always standing at the back of the room, quietly listening to everything but rarely speaking, came to her mind. She remembered that as a kid she always thought that he was weird and scary.

"Dr Baldock?"  
"See? You remember me after all."

"Ok, that's enough. Where is my sister and what do you want from me? " she asked as demanding as she could.

The doctor took a remote control and pressed a couple of buttons. On the screen, the image of her sister appeared. She was lying down on a bed that was looking more like a prison bunk. She looked dirty, exhausted and weak.

"You son of a b-" she shouted and made a move towards the man. But in a split second, he had pulled a gun from his belt and aiming at her.

"I 'd advise you to stand back," he ordered.  
"What the hell do you want from us?" Her fear had turned to anger. Her body was so tense, it hurt. She stepped back and took a deep breath to calm down. Getting herself killed would not help her sister.

"The day your mother died, well the first time, to be precise, I saw everything. I saw how you saved her. What you did was extraordinary. I had never seen anything like that. It haunted my dreams for many nights until I came with an idea. I would finish my studies and raise funds to create my own clinic. In this clinic, I would do research in how to use mutants with your power to create a cure for all illnesses. I could have made billions! When the time came, I went to talk to your father. Unfortunately, the idiot had decided otherwise. I was really disappointed when he told me he had given you some sort of cure for those wonderful powers of yours. And I was even more disappointed when he threatened me to report me to the medical board. You understand that I couldn't let that happen. I had worked so hard."

She lost the world under her feet.  
"It was you. You killed my father. You psychopath." After all these years the mystery of her father's death was solved.  
"Psychopath? Because I wanted to create a cure that would save the world from pain and death? Yes, it might have involved some experiments on you and your kind but doesn't the end justify the means?"

Megan shook her head in disbelief.

"That still doesn't explain what you want from me now."  
"Well, I recently found out that no cure can remove a mutant's power. So my plan is back on track." Baldock answered with a large and disturbing smile.  
"Ok, I'm here. You can let my sister go."  
"Oh no, not so fast my dear. There is something that I need you to do for me and then I can let go of your sister. Follow me."

He exited the room and Megan followed.  
"Bring the sister," he said to one of the two bodyguards that were still waiting there.  
The man left running while the other one followed them. They walked across a narrow corridor. Every few steps there was a room with people working, closely watched by a couple of heavily armed men.

"What is this place?" Megan asked even if she knew the answer now.  
"This is my laboratory. The people you see here work on multiple secret projects. From new weapons to diseases and cures, " he answered while entering a surprisingly spacious room. In the middle of it, there was a young man lying down in a hospital bed, connected to all sort of life support equipment. An all too familiar picture to Megan.

Dr Baldock stood on one side on of the bed and Megan on the other.  
"This is my son, Lucas. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed, two years ago, with cancer, like your mother. There was nothing we could do and as you can see the only reason he is still alive is because of these machines. Cure him and I will let your sister go."

Megan's heart sunk. She looked down to the floor.  
"I can't, you said it yourself, my father gave me a cure I can't use my power. I'm sorry, please let us go," she begged.

"Megan!" she heard her sister scream from the doorstep.  
"Elaine," she murmured and turned to run to her. But she froze as soon as she saw that the bodyguard was holding a gun to Elaine's head.  
"Are you okay?" she asked from across the room.  
"Yes," she answered between sobs.  
"Bring her close," Baldock ordered and the man dragged Elaine next to him.

She was crying, looking at Megan searching for reassurance.  
"Everything is going to be okay," she tried to sound confident but the tremble in her voice was giving her away.

"Heal my son and I will let her go."  
Megan clenched her teeth.  
"I can't I tried before, please believe me," she urged.  
"I suggest that you find a solution to our little problem because I'm running out of patience."  
"I can't," Megan yelled back. A feeling of panic grew in her as she could sense that the man was prepared to do anything to get what he wanted.  
"Very well," he said and drew the gun from his belt again turning towards Elaine.

"MEGAN!" Elaine screamed.  
"Don't!" Megan stopped him, "please don't, I'll try. "

The man lowered his gun. Megan approached the young man and slowly put her hands on his arm. She closed her eyes and tried to remember every conversation she had with the Professor.  
"Try to feel the energy moving between you" she repeated the Professor words in her mind. She felt nothing. She then tried to go back to the night with Logan. While holding that thought tears came streaming down her face. She wished Logan was there, he would know what to do. But she had stupidly decided to take the matter into her own hands ending up in a situation she couldn't handle.

"Nothing is happening," Baldock reminded her of the terrifying reality.  
"I can't, please I don't know what to do!" her words came out like razors as she knew her answers was condemning her.  
"Very well," he said, his voice so calm that left Megan confused.

But before she could say or do anything else the deafening sound of a gun being fired echoed in the room.

"ELAINE NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She instantly felt a pair of strong arms grabbing her, stopping her from running towards her sister.  
"Let me go!" she cried out, fighting to get out of their grip.

Baldock slowly approached her. He came so close that she could feel his breath on her face.

"You have 10 minutes before she bleeds out. Heal my boy, and I will let you save her life."  
Megan looked at her sister. Elaine was laying down, gasping for air,a small pool of blood slowly forming around her.

Megan took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. She had no choice but to get herself together and try again. She turned to the boy and touched his hand. She tried to clear her head and emotions. She felt the guilt of trying to remove the picture of her sister bleeding right next to her, but she had to concentrate as hard as possible. Everything around her slowly quieted. Her sister's gasping, the life machine support's beeping, the screams from neighbouring rooms. Everything just stopped.

"Feel the warmth of his skin on your hand." A voice echoed in her head. It was the most comforting and calming voice she had ever heard. She didn't try to answer, she knew that this was her chance to finally unlock her powers and save both this boy's life and her sister's. "Feel the blood running through his body. Follow its flow." Megan started picturing what the Professor was whispering in her mind. She slowly felt a warmth extending up her arms. "Find the source of his pain, feel it, take it from him." The warmth slowly turned into pain. A bright light glowed around her hands. She clenched them around the boy's arm afraid that the pain might force her to let go of him.

She felt her energy drastically dropping when a tremendously strong wind opened the door behind her causing everybody to fall on the ground. Baldock's gun flew out of his hand. Alarms went off, voices were shouting orders, gunshots and pandemonium settled in the building.  
Megan looked around and noticed that everybody was focusing on what was going on outside of the room. Baldock was up, shooting orders at the bodyguards and asking for re-enforcement over the radio. This was the perfect chance. Magan discreetly dragged herself towards her sister. But before she could reach her, she heard the distinct click of a gun being armed.

"I told you to come alone. You destroyed EVERYTHING," he yelled like a crazy man. He had taken a gun from one on the guards and was now aiming at her. "Prepare yourself to die." And a shot was fired.

Megan opened her eyes wondering why she was still able to do so. She looked up where Baldock was standing seconds ago. He was now laying down in a pool of his own blood coming from a hole in his head. In his place was his son. Barely standing but yet miraculously on his feet. Megan realised that she had finally triggered her powers and healed him enough for him to wake up, stand, pick up his father's gun and shoot him. He was fixing his father dead body with eyes full of tears.

"I never asked for this," he said, "those past two years were a living hell. Why couldn't you just let me die? Why?" He knew he would not get an answer but he kept going "You disgust me." He looked at Megan that was still trying to understand what was going on. "You have to hurry up, she won't hold out much longer," he said to her.

"Elaine," she said when reality kicked back. She ran to her sister and grabbed her hand. She was still alive. Barely, but alive.  
"Everything is going to be ok I promise. I'm going to take care of you," Megan reassured her sister, who tried to answer put started choking on the blood that was coming out of her mouth.

Megan closed her eyes again and like before, she tried to concentrate, only now it was on her sister. The pain in her arms came back quickly. She had the feeling that now she knew what she was supposed to do. The pain took over her body and she felt the light warming her face again. Because of her previous attempt, she had lost a lot of energy and was weakening quickly. She could feel it, it wasn't enough. Not yet. She had to power through. That's when she heard a familiar voice.

"Logan, you came." Knowing that he was there, relief washed through her and she felt her love for him appeasing the pain and giving her the energy needed to carry on with her quest.

"Megan, stop it, you're going to kill yourself," Logan's voice echoed again, this time closer to her. He grabbed her shoulder to take her away from Elaine, but a wave of energy, like a shield, pushed him away to the ground.

"I'm sorry, I so sorry, I have to," she said but her voice was so weak what she was the only one to hear it. She could hardly keep her body straight, her breath became short and her heart was slowing down. ...She finally let got of her sister and started falling down. Before she hit the ground, Logan caught her and pulled her into his arms.

"Hey," she murmured softly, her eyes were almost closed.  
"Why didn't you wait? "his voice seemed caught in his throat as he struggled to form the words.  
"Forgive me."

She noticed Logan eyes slowly filling with tears.

"I didn't mean to hurt you."

She felt his hand stroking her head. Breathing was becoming more and more difficult and Logan had noticed.

"Hang in there, you can do it," he encouraged her but the tears started rolling down his face. He had been there before and had sworn he would do everything in his power to never put himself in this situation again. And yet there he was. Holding the woman he loved, while she was slowly leaving her last breath.

"I love you, Logan," she smiled at him and closed her eyes.  
"No, don't, please don't," he brought her closer to his chest "Please don't, I love you," he choked.


	10. Chapter 10

Earlier that day...

"She left..." Logan said staring at the empty parking space.

"What do you mean, what happened?" Storm asked.

"We have to find her," he stated, rushing back inside.

"Logan wait! What happened?" Storm said jumping in front of him.

"I don't know, somebody called her and she said they have her sister. I told her to wait in the lab so we can come up with a plan."

"And she took the matter into her own hands," Storm guessed the rest of the story. "Let's go find the Professor. He'll know what to do."

They both ran towards the Professor's office.

"We have a situation," Storm said entering the room. "They got Megan's sister. She took a car and left. We don't know where."

The Professor didn't need to hear anything more. He put his hands on both sides of his head, reaching for Megan's mind.

"She is out of my reach. To Cerebro, now," the Professor ordered.

The three of them went to the basement and into a huge empty room with only a helmet placed on a stand. Cerebro, a machine that amplifies the brainwaves of the Professor to help him connect with mutants out of his reach.

"Let's waste no time," the Professor said putting the helmet on.

He searched deep amongst the mutants around the area until he found her. He saw Megan driving on a small side road in the woods. At that point trying to talk her out of it would be impossible, so he only looked into her memory for the location she had been told to go.

"Why is it taking so long?" Logan burst unable to contain his impatience, nearly breaking the Professor's concentration.

"She is fine and heading towards an old military hospital hidden deep in the northern woods, it shouldn't be difficult to find it by air."

Before the Professor had the chance to finish his sentence both Logan and Storm rushed out and headed the lab where the rest of the team was waiting.

"What is going on?" Bobby asked seeing the pair running towards them.

"Megan is in trouble, we have to find her. Prepare the jet." Storm ordered the two teens who instantly obeyed.

"Why didn't she wait?" Logan groaned walking back and forth.

"She did what she thought was right," Storm said putting herself in front of him, cutting him off his frenetic movement. "Now let's go."

Once in the jet, Storm took the pilot's seat next to her copilot, Bobby, while Logan buckled up in one of the back seats next to Kitty. Logan hated flying but when the jet left the ground he didn't even notice, his mind focused on getting to Megan in time. Once in the air Storm put the jet into stealth mode to avoid detection.

It didn't take long to locate the building but it was surrounded by the woods which made landing nearby impossible. Logan proposed to lower the ship as much a possible for them to jump off it, but Storm refused as it was too dangerous for the rest of the team, Not everybody has healing powers. Finally, Storm found a place a couple of kilometres from there where they could land.

Logan barely waited for the door to touch the ground before jumping out of it, leaving the group to catch up with him. Once close enough, he ducked behind a rock and waited for the others, scanning his surroundings for any clues. When he noticed the car Megan had taken, his heart almost jump out of his chest. To his relief, the area around the car looked clear of blood or any signs of a struggle.

"So what's the plan now?" He heard Bobby's from behind him.

"Go in there and kill everything that moves," Logan replied, anger boiling in his veins.

"They asked Megan to go alone, if they spot us it might cost her life," Storm intervened.

"So what do you propose? There is nobody at the gate but the place is surrounded by cameras, how are we supposed to go in undetected?" He fired back.

"I can raise fog to block their vision of the outside, we get closer and then we improvise."

"Isn't the fog going to raise suspicions?" Kitty questioned.

"There is a lake not far from here, I believe this won't be the first time for this phenomenon to happen around here," Storm reassured her.

They stared at each other, and it was enough of a signal for their unfinished plan to begin. Storm lifted herself above the ground, arms open and head tilted back. From the deep corners of the woods, fog came rushing through, embracing the whole area. Once the fog was thick enough, the team discretely approached the fence. Logan took out his claws and cut a small passage open, just big enough for them to pass through. They approached the main entrance only to discover that the only way to get in was by scanning a magnetic card through the door's scanner.

Kitty took a deep breath and passed through the wall to the other side. To her surprise, there was no guard standing there but she could hear voices close by and a pair of footsteps coming her way. She grabbed a fire extinguisher hanging on the wall and hid in the wall.  
A tower tall man appeared at the end of the corridor, walking toward her direction, an automatic gun resting on his shoulder. She waited, holding her breath until the man had just passed her. She raised the fire extinguisher high above her head and hit him on the back of his head with all the strength her little body could gather. Despite his impressive size, the hit was strong enough to send him unconscious on the ground. Kitty searched his pockets until she found a magnetic ID card. Hopefully, she could open the main door with it and let the rest of the team in. She ran to the front door and swiped the card, forcing the door open.

"Now what?" Bobby asked.  
"I think I saw a control room over there maybe we can find out where she is," Kitty suggested pointing at the end of the corridor.

Waiting no longer Logan rushed ahead taking his claws out, ready to take out any man that would get in his way. To his surprise there was no guard in the control room, just a cup of coffee still steaming giving away the fact someone was here not long ago. The room had a control panel in front of a rather big screen where images of different rooms where playing out. But Megan wasn't on one of them. Bobby sat on the chair and fiddled with the controls, curses escaping from his lips as he swapped camera views.

"There she is!" Bobby exclaimed when Megan's figure appeared on the screen.

"What the hell is going on?" Storm said looking at the video playing.

There was a young man lying on a bed, Megan standing beside him. Another man holding a gun pointed at a young woman.

"That must be her sister," Storm added.

But as she finished her sentence, a gunshot echoed throughout the building, followed by Megan screams. This was enough for Logan to pinpoint her position. He turned around just to find the end of an assault rifle pointing at his chest.

"Don't move or I'll shoot!" The man holding the gun screamed at them, one shaky hand holding the weapon while the other pressed an alarm button on the side of the door.

As the alarm went off Logan grabbed the end of the gun yanking it from his hands and hitting him with the handle. The man fell down unconscious and Logan stepped over his body running towards what he thought was the direction the screams had come from. The rest of team close behind him.

As they ran through corridors, a sea of soldiers emerged behind them. Bobby stopped, holding his arm straight in the air, ice forming around then. A blast of ice launched onto the ground forming an ice wall blocking the army from following them. But before they could catch their breath, another group of soldiers appeared before them opening fire. Without thinking, Logan jumped in front of the bullets to serve as a shield, while Storm dragged the two youngest members to the ground. The soldiers ceased fire astonished by the man still standing alive in front of them despite the number of bullets lodged in his body. Storm seized the opportunity and raised to her feet, arms open, her eyes turning white as a hurricane came rushing from behind her sending the soldier flying into the walls.

Resuming their race they opened every door on they way to checking inside until they finally found what they were looking for. The scene Logan faced stepping into the room numbed his entire body. The young man they had seen lying on the bed was now on his feet, a gun in his hand, a bleeding body lying on the floor not far from him. And in the middle of the room there she was, her hands on her sister's chest both enclosed in a bubble of light.

"Megan, stop it! You're going to kill yourself!" Logan screamed realising what was happening.

He rushed towards them, but the moment his hand on her shoulder, a blast of energy threw him on the ground. Unable to do anything he stood there watching until Megan finally let got of her sister.

Before she hit the ground, he caught her and pulled her into his arms as Megan murmured something, but her voice was too weak to hear.

"Why didn't you wait?" he asked, his heart sinking in his chest as he realised how weak she was.  
"Forgive me," she breathed sending tears to Logan's eyes. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she continued creating a choking lump in his throat.

Feeling powerless, Logan stroked her head as he saw that breathing had become almost impossible for her.

"Hang in there, you can do it," he encouraged her, tears rolling down his face.

"I love you, Logan," she smiled at him and closed her eyes.

"No, don't, please don't," he brought her closer to his chest "Please don't, I love you," he choked.

"Logan, let me see her," Storm's voice echoed from behind but he didn't hear her. He tightened his embrace refusing to believe what was happening.

"Let her go," she insisted, two pairs of hands grabbing him from his underarms forcing him to make contact with his surrounding.

"Logan let her go, it might not be too late,"

Logan finally let go of Megan and laid her body straight on the floor. Storm placed two fingers on Megan's neck to check her pulse.

"She has not pulse, Kitty I need your help me to do CPR," Storm announced placing her hands over Megan's chest.

"Please save her," an unfamiliar voice forced the team to look at the young woman on the floor right in front of them.

"You are Megan's sister right?" Storm asked.

The young woman nodded, a sob escaping her lips while tears came rushing down her cheeks.

As Storm massaged Megan's chest, a new wave of soldiers appeared at the door. But as they recognised their leader's dead body lying in a pool of blood, they surrendered and threw their weapons down.

"Still nothing," Storm whispered as she checked Megan pulse.

"There is a defibrillator there," the young man standing next to his dead father stated, "they used this bloody thing too many times on me, maybe this time it can actually save somebody worth saving," he continued pointing at the machine.

Bobby raced to bring it to the two women working hard to keep Megan's heart beating. The machine hissed as it changed with current.

"Clear!" Storm yelled putting the handles on Megan's chest and releasing the current.

Logan's heart tied as he witnessed her body jump and fall again. Storm checked again for a heartbeat but nothing.

"Clear!" She said again and repeated her actions.

Logan watched the scene unfold, hope slowly slipping away, the room was shrinking around him and darkness spread within him.

Five words coming from Storm brought him back.

"I've got a pulse!"

A sigh of relief escaped everybody's mouth.

"Is she going to be ok?" Elaine asked catching her breath between sobs.

"I don't know. We'll have to wait and see. Let's get you both out of here."

Logan picked up Megan in his arms and the others helped Elaine stand up as her legs were still trembling. The team walked out of the room under the stunned eyes of the building employees.

"I got you girl, you'll be fine..." Logan softly whispered in Megan's hair as they walked out of the building.


End file.
